The goal of the Collaborative is to leverage federal funds to strategically reduce emissions from the most polluting diesel sources in impacted
communities. The Collaborative seeks to improve air quality and public health by targeting the highest polluting engines with the most cost effective
control strategies.
DERA 2018: Electric
School Bus Replacements
in Southern California
The West Coast Collaborative (WCC) is pleased to
announce the Cajon Valley Union School District's
(CVUSD's) completion of a United States Environmental
Protection Agency (US EPA) Diesel Emissions Reduction
Act (DERA) National Grant to replace Type C legacy
diesel school buses. This project was implemented using
$1,000,000 in DERA grant funding combined with
$200,820 in cost-share funds from CVUSD, and
$1,100,000 from the California Air Resources Board
(CARB).
What is the project?
This project replaced five model year 2006 Type C diesel
school buses with five model year 2018 zero tailpipe emission
battery-electric buses (BEBs). The replaced diesel buses
were removed from service and permanently destroyed.
Why is this project important?
This project's primary objective is to improve the environmental
health of children by partnering with CVUSD to replace legacy
heavy-duty diesel school buses with zero emission buses. The
project will eliminate school bus tailpipe emissions in
communities disproportionately affected by diesel exhaust and
poor air quality. Exposure to diesel exhaust has been
associated with decreased lung function and retarded lung
development and can also exacerbate the symptoms of
asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia. This project will reduce
children's exposure to diesel emissions as well as the negative
health effects associated with exposure.
What are the environmental benefits?
Over the remaining lifetime of the 5 affected engines, these
upgrades are estimated to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides
(NOx) by 3.8 tons, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) by 0.3 tons,
hydrocarbons (HC) by 0.5 tons, carbon monoxide (CO) by 1.9
tons, and carbon dioxide (CO2) by 668 tons. Additionally, the
reduction of PM2.5 emissions will also reduce black carbon
(BC), which influences climate by directly absorbing light,
reducing the reflectivity ("albedo") of snow and ice through
deposition, and interacting with clouds. The project will also
conserve nearly 71,000 gallons of diesel fuel by deploying BEB
powertrain technology.
Who are the partners on this project?
The project was led by CVUSD, a California school district
serving El Cajon and Rancho San Diego; in partnership with
First Priority Green Fleet, The Lion Electric Company, San
Diego Gas and Electric, Nuvve Inc., BTC Power, Kisensum,
and EV Connect. CVUSD received the DERA grant award
through the WCC, and oversaw project implementation. CARB
contributed funding for battery-electric buses via its Hybrid and
Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project
(HVIP), and CVUSD contributed cost-share and administrative
support for bus replacements. Other partners contributed
support for BEB charging and vehicle-to-grid infrastructure
integration. CVUSD was responsible for data monitoring and
reporting for the project.
What is the Collaborative?
The WCC is an ambitious partnership between leaders from
federal, state, local and tribal government, the private sector,
academia, and environmental groups committed to reducing
diesel emissions along the West Coast. Partners come from all
over Western North America, including Alaska, Arizona,
California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, the
Pacific Islands, Canada and Mexico. The WCC is facilitated by
the US EPA DERA Program (https://www.epa.gov/dera).
How can I find out more information?
For more information on this project, please contact John
Mikulin at US EPA (mikulin.iohn@epa.gov I 1-415-972-3956).
For more information on the WCC, please visit our website.
www.westcoastcollaborative.org
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