School Transportation News is highlighting U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools winners throughout the week, in honor of Earth Day. Albemarle County Public Schools in Virginia won the award in 2017 and has since begun integrating electric school buses into its fleet.
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ACPS was recognized for being energy efficient as well as having a health and wellness program, among other achievements. In the late 2010’s, the district focused on the early adoption of sustainability projects. ACPS installed 1 megawatt of solar in 2016 across six schools. In 2018, all facilities were upgraded to LED lighting, reducing energy consumption.
William Shifflett, deputy director of transportation for the district, noted that seven years later, the integration of electric school buses has begun.
“We currently have four units in play and are getting to know them and how they function within our district and terrain,” he said. “We continue to seek other grant opportunities to increase our EV integration as opportunities become available.”
John Cole, the district’s environmental program manager, added the district is in the early stages of developing a bus electrification transition plan with assistance from the National Renewable Energy Lab and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation through the Clean Bus Planning Awards (CBPA) Program.
“With partial funding from Dominion Energy’s Smart Charging Infrastructure Pilot, ACPS installed our first public EV charging stations for teacher and staff use during the school day and public use after hours,” he said. “We are planning to deploy additional public-facing EV charging stations at more of our facilities in the coming years.”
Plus, Cole added the district is working on infrastructure projects to expand school walk zones and to improve safety within them.
Cole added ACPS is working to build on the early successes to achieve Albemarle County’s and ACPS’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. On the building front, he said, in 2022 the district installed an additional 275 kW of solar panels on two of its southern elementary schools and is currently developing plans to add solar to an additional 11 school buildings through a power purchase agreement.
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Cole said they are also in the early stages of working with a consultant to develop a decarbonization master plan.
“This plan will serve as a roadmap to guide the process of reducing our reliance on fossil fuels at our buildings,” he said. “This past year we were awarded the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy CLASS Prize, which provides funding and training for energy management staff. Finally, we are nearing the end of the design phase for two new schools, an elementary school and a high school center. Both schools are being designed to be net-zero ready and both schools will seek LEED Silver, or higher, certification.”
LEED Silver certification indicates that a project achieves 50 to 59 LEED points. It is verified and reviewed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
