Dec 21, 2022

Washington DC-area Microgrid Powers Electric Transit Buses

Updated: Jun 30, 2023

A new energy project is “up and running” in the Washington, DC, metro area, powering electric transit buses through a solar microgrid system. The project, located in Montgomery County, Maryland, will reduce transit bus emissions, keep buses operating during power outages, and offer power to nearby users during outages. The first phase of the project uses “renewable natural gas-ready on-site generation,” according to an article by Kathy Hitchens for Microgrid Knowledge.

  1. Hitchens writes that the county will be able to charge a fleet of 70 electric buses at the depot.

  2. The solar microgrid project will reduce lifetime bus emissions by 62%.

  3. This reduction is “the equivalent of more than 160,000 tons of greenhouse gases over the next 25 years,” writes Hitchens.

  4. The 6.5-MW microgrid project includes 1.6 MW of solar photovoltaic “canopies,” 3 MW of battery energy storage, and over 4.14 MW of charging capacity.

  5. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said, “We’re well on our way to our goal of an emissions-free fleet by 2035.”

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