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CPower to Turn Country’s Largest Electric School Bus Fleet into Grid-Ready Resources
Electric Buses at Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools Will Deliver Grid Reliability Through New CPower Partnership with Leading Electric School Bus Solutions Provider, Highland Electric Fleets
BALTIMORE – November 2, 2022 – Today, the national leader in unlocking the power of customer Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), CPower Energy (“CPower”) announced a new partnership with Highland Electric Fleets (“Highland”), to utilize the country’s largest EV school bus (EVSB) fleet to date to provide grid services and increase reliability for PJM, the largest grid operator in the U.S. CPower will work with Highland to enable demand response solutions, allowing Highland to reduce electrical loads using EVSBs from Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to keep the grid in balance.
“We are thrilled to partner with Highland to leverage their EVSB depots as flexible and clean distributed energy resources to support the grid when called upon for reliability and to unlock an entirely new revenue stream,” said John Horton, CEO and President, CPower. “Our partnerships with EV fleet owners, charging operators, and local school districts across the country demonstrate that participation in grid services programs can substantially lower electrification costs, while supporting a local community’s resiliency and greening the grid.”
“Electric school buses will play a huge role in delivering healthier, more resilient communities around the U.S.,” said Duncan McIntyre, CEO, Highland Electric Fleets. “Electric school buses will also play active roles supporting local electric grids and wholesale energy markets. Partnering with CPower enables demand flexibility, which means that MCPS — and eventually school districts nationwide — can support both grid resiliency and decarbonization.”
Because school buses run on a consistent daily schedule, electric buses such as those at MCPS are ideal resources to provide grid resiliency services. CPower will manage the flow of electricity to the EVSB charging stations to reduce demand on the grid when needed. PJM recently updated market rules to allow for EV charging assets to participate in its capacity and ancillary services markets, but does not yet allow bi-directional charging assets to participate, which would optimize environmental benefits by allowing the EVSB batteries to export additional clean energy capacity to the grid. CPower hopes that with FERC Order 2222 and other policy advancements, they will be able to unleash even greater value from these assets in the future.
CPower helps project owners and developers across the U.S. unlock the value of their customer’s DERs to drive energy flexibility and grid reliability. The company currently manages approximately 6.3 GW of DER capacity at more than 17,000 sites – more than any other player in the U.S.
About CPower Energy Management
CPower Energy Management is the leading, national energy solutions provider guiding customers towards a clean and dependable energy future. We manage approximately 6.3 GW of capacity across the U.S., forming virtual power plants that are good for the grid and great for the community. CPower maximizes the value of our customers’ electricity loads, facility assets and distributed energy resources while delivering flexibility, capacity, and other ancillary services to the grid. With more than two decades of experience, we’ve grown to offer more than 60 local energy programs, partnering with grid operators and utilities to serve more than 17,000 sites, delivering approximately 286,000 metric tons of CO2 reductions in 2021 alone. CPower is based in Baltimore, Maryland and is owned by LS Power, a development, investment, and operating company focused on the power and energy infrastructure sector. For more information, visit: www.cpowerenergy.com.
Media Contacts
Amy Nunnemacher
CPower Energy Management
720-617-0877
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