In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Gray County Wind Farm in Kansas is celebrating its 20th birthday.
• Austin approves a huge electric transit bus purchase – 197, to be precise.
• Clean energy now provides 25.22% of total US available installed generating capacity.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

expand full story

Spanish bus builder Beulas has teamed up with electric powertrain manufacturer Equipmake to create the Jewel E, an electric double-decker bus that will begin service in London. The Jewel E can be equipped with a battery pack up to 543 kWh, the largest battery of any single axle double-decker electric bus, providing a max range of 250 miles on a single charge.

expand full story

Following a Zero-Emission Bus Summit in the UK, London mayor Sadiq Khan announced that all new buses ordered by Transport for London (TfL) will be electric moving forward. The new policy falls in line with the UK capital’s previously set goal of making its entire bus fleet electric by 2037. Alongside the announcement, Khan announced an advanced timeline to see a fully-electric bus fleet by 2034, or perhaps even sooner.

expand full story

Welcome one and all back to the Electric Vehicle Spotlight (EVS), where we at Electrek shine a light on specific companies bringing exciting new innovations and strategies to the world of electrified transport. Our latest EVS is on Opibus, a company headquartered in Kenya that was born out of a research project in Sweden.

By focusing on all-electric conversion kits for fleet vehicles, as well as manufacturing electric motorcycles and energy systems, Opibus is on a mission to implement clean electric mobility in the emerging markets of Africa.

expand full story

Houston’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, which is heavily dependent on diesel vehicles, is going to purchase up to 20 electric buses that will run along two routes.

expand full story

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• The US government has awarded grants for electric and hydrogen buses to 49 projects in 46 states.
• Connecticut boosts its electric vehicle rebates.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

expand full story

US Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) announced late today that more than $5.4 million in federal grant funding will be awarded to the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority to purchase electric buses.

expand full story

Miami-Dade County in Florida today announced it has bought 42 Proterra ZX5+ electric transit buses, featuring a total of 19 megawatt hours of battery storage capacity. The county also announced that it will install 75 Proterra chargers across three bus depots. Its first electric buses are slated to be delivered in 2022.

expand full story

The first driverless electric shuttle buses hit the roads in the city of Cambridge in the UK yesterday as part of ground-breaking trials.

expand full story

This week, Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation that would invest $25 billion to convert the entire US fleet of ICE school buses to electric vehicles. The bill would authorize federal grant money over the course of 10 years, and 40% of the funds would be specifically devoted to replacing school buses operating in mostly nonwhite, poorer communities.

expand full story

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Texas is expected to add record utility-scale solar in the next two years.
• West Virginia’s electric car drivers made a film about why they chose to embrace electric.
• The Welsh capital of Cardiff is getting 36 e-buses – the largest order outside of London to date.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

expand full story

CaaS provider AMPLY Power announced today that it is partnering with Unique Electric Solutions (UES) to equip school buses and trucks with electrification, charging services, and vehicle-to-grid capabilities. AMPLY Power will oversee the collaboration that also includes Rhombus Energy Solutions with vehicles provided by Logan Bus Company.

expand full story

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• C40 mayors, transport workers, and unions call for stimulus funding for public transport.
• The EDF releases two sets of policy recommendations on heavy-duty truck electrification and infrastructure.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

expand full story

Electrified powertrain manufacturer Cummins has delivered what it is calling the first fully operational vehicle-to-grid (V2G) school buses. Even though Lion Electric started testing the same V2G tech years ago. These buses are manufactured by Blue Bird and powered by Cummins to include DC fast charging and V2G capabilities. The two electric school buses are operational in school districts in Peoria, Illinois, about 2.5 hours south of Chicago.

expand full story

General Motors gave Norway and its electric car success story the best possible promotion this week with their ‘No Way, Norway’ advertisement ahead of this Sunday’s Super Bowl LV. While Will Ferrell’s rallying cry has amused many and left others less impressed, in the absence of any actual electric cars to sell, it’s a conversational icebreaker at least. But there’s also a city in China with the biggest electric public transportation system in the world.

expand full story

It’s an enormous state, but you gotta start somewhere: Alaska is getting its very first electric school bus, which was built by Thomas Built Buses in North Carolina.

expand full story

Nevada launched new incentives yesterday from Nevada Energy’s (NVE) annual Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Demonstration (EVID) program that will help accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and EV charging stations across the state.

expand full story

As Electrek wrote in April, we’re still suffering from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico a decade later. Scientists are finding oil from that spill in the livers of fish, and on the deep ocean floor. So it’s a small consolation that $192,000 of Pinellas County, Florida’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement was spent on the US East Coast’s first inductive wireless bus charging station.

expand full story

The Republic of Ireland’s National Transport Authority (NTA) is buying up to 600 hybrid double-decker buses from BAE and bus-building company Alexander Dennis Ltd.

expand full story

Legislation in New Jersey passed critical committee votes today, making it likely to become law this week. It will make New Jersey one of the most generous states for EVs, as well as improve EV infrastructure for the millions of Americans who drive through the state.

expand full story

The electrification of trucks and buses needs to be accelerated, says a new report released yesterday by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

expand full story

An Indian government committee has sanctioned 5,645 electric buses for 65 cities in one of the largest electric bus initiatives the world has seen outside of China.

expand full story

Warsaw has placed an order for 130 articulated electric buses from Polish bus maker Solaris in one of the largest European orders for e-buses to date.

expand full story

Tesla Powerpacks are now used to reduce the cost of charging a large fleet of electric buses operated by Stagecoach in the UK. expand full story

Colombian capital Bogotá will add 594 new all-electric buses to its TransMilenio public bus system in 2020, giving the city the largest electric bus fleet in Latin America, Bogotá Mayor Enrique Peñalosa said.

expand full story

Volvo has introduced its newest electric bus, an all-electric articulated bus that will come in two lengths and be able to fit up to 150 passengers.

expand full story

Philadelphia’s local transportation authority introduced 25 new all-electric buses this week, and the organization claims it now has the largest zero-emissions bus fleet on the East Coast.

expand full story

The Toronto Transit Commission’s first all-electric bus is on city roads as of today — and it’s the first of 60 electric buses the city expects to add to its fleet by the first quarter of 2020.

expand full story

Barcelona will soon be the latest city to add a large number of electric buses to its fleet, replacing aging diesel buses in the process.

expand full story

Hyundai introduced its first all-electric double-decker bus today as the company aims to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.

expand full story

Electric bus maker BYD has to install and pay for a wireless charging infrastructure upgrade in Indianapolis after its buses experienced “lower-than-expected distances on one charge” during testing. expand full story

A number of Latin American countries are ramping up their adoption of electric buses this year, with Chile leading the way. The country recently added 200 new electric buses to its fleet, with an expected 500 more to follow next year, as it aims to have a fully electric public transport system by 2040.

expand full story

The Anaheim Transportation Network (ATN) will have one of the largest electric bus fleets in the US after receiving a new order of 40 BYD electric buses, and more than half of ATN’s fleet will be zero emission by next year.

expand full story

A new nonprofit bus service coming to Vietnam next year will introduce at least 3,000 new electric buses to Vietnamese roads.

expand full story

ElectrifyNY, a coalition of environmental, transit, and social justice advocates, is calling for New York state and its municipalities to fully transition to electric vehicles by 2040.

expand full story

Colorado is using some of its allocated money from Volkswagen’s Dieselgate emissions settlement to remove 28 diesel-powered buses from state roads and replace them with 24 new electric buses.

expand full story

Portland’s public mass transit agency TriMet started transitioning to a clean energy bus fleet last week with the introduction of its first all-electric bus. The new bus will soon be joined by four more electric buses, and all will be powered solely by wind energy.

expand full story

US electric bus manufacturer Proterra is scaling up its battery leasing program, removing one of the largest barriers to widespread e-bus adoption as it looks to put its buses on even footing with diesel counterparts when it comes to upfront costs.

expand full story

Paris’ public transport operator announced it has ordered up to 800 new electric buses for the capital city, replacing older diesel buses in the process.

expand full story

Electric bus maker Proterra announced the University of Georgia has ordered 20 of its Catalyst E2 buses. Upon deployment, the university will have one of the largest electric bus fleets in the U.S.

expand full story

BYD has introduced the K12A, a 27-meter (88.5 feet) long bi-articulated bus that it’s calling “the world’s longest pure electric bus.”

expand full story

While electric cars are displacing global oil demand at increasing rates, new research shows electric buses are making a much bigger mark overall thus far.

expand full story

The Lion Electric Co., a school bus maker based in Quebec, has been converting its production capacity to electric school buses over the past 3 years and is now leveraging its expertise to bring to market an entire lineup of all-electric trucks and buses. expand full story

First Priority GreenFleet (FPGF) partnered up with The Lion Electric Co. to deploy what they claim is “the biggest all-electric school bus deployment in North American history made by a single Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).” expand full story

Earlier this week, a New Flyer electric bus rolled over and crashed during testing in Anniston, Alabama.

It’s a surprising accident and the rooftop battery pack design is potentially to blame. expand full story

Electric buses are becoming increasingly popular with transit fleets around the world, but no more than in Shenzhen, China.

The megacity has been building a large fleet of electric buses for years now, but this week it announced that it completely electrified its fleet with more than 16,000 electric buses. expand full story

Along with Daimler’s broader move into heavy-duty electric vehicles, Mercedes-Benz is moving into electric buses.

The German automotive company announced that it will start volume production of “a modular battery pack” for its Citaro bus “by the end of next year.” expand full story