Porterville Unified School District (PUSD) has partnered with ForeFront Power and The Mobility House to develop a comprehensive zero-emission infrastructure project that includes a 763 kilowatt (kW) solar array, a 408-kW/1,632 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery energy storage system, a microgrid controller, and EV fleet charging infrastructure.
The system is expected to produce nearly 1,425,000 kWh of clean electricity annually and offset approximately 80% of the District’s facilities’ electricity consumption.
A microgrid controller will enable the facility to disconnect from Southern California Edison’s grid during emergencies, drawing power directly from on-site solar and battery storage assets.
The project will support 35 direct current (DC) fast charger ports for the District’s planned fleet of electric school buses, managed through The Mobility House’s ChargePilot charge management system.
An additional eight charging ports will serve the District’s general vehicle fleet, two of which will feature bidirectional vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capability, allowing EVs to discharge power back to the grid during peak demand or emergencies.
“We are excited to advance this important infrastructure project, which supports the District’s long-term goals for sustainability, energy resiliency, and responsible stewardship of public resources,” said Brad Rohrbach, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, Porterville Unified School District, in a statement.
Located in Tulare County in California’s Central Valley, PUSD serves more than 13,000 students across 22 campuses, 88.9% of whom are from socioeconomically disadvantaged households.
The project is funded in part through a U.S. EPA Clean School Bus Program grant secured with support from CALSTART.
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