September 6, 2006 News Media Release

Austin Energy to help fund plug-in hybrid school bus

Austin Energy will help the Austin Independent School District (A.I.S.D.) obtain one of the nation’s first plug-in hybrid school buses that can achieve an almost 100% increase in fuel efficiency over a conventional school bus by using electricity from the Austin Energy grid.

The Austin City Council on Aug. 31, 2006 approved $65,000 in funding from Austin Energy to help A.I.S.D. purchase the $209,250 bus. The school district is pitching in $70,000 and the remainder will come from federal funds from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Austin Energy’s participation is part of its overall campaign in which it has taken a nationwide lead to encourage automakers to produce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and help America to reduce both its dependence on foreign oil and emissions while increasing fuel efficiency and national security.

The school bus is one of only 19 that will be delivered to a consortium of school districts, state energy agencies and student transportation providers in 11 states. The consortium includes the Killeen Independent School District, which also will receive one bus.

The buses contain a V8 diesel engine and an 80-kilowatt hybrid-electric powertrain that incorporates a transmission, batteries and electric motor. The system allows the diesel engine to operate at peak efficiency and either draw energy from the batteries during high load or provide energy to the batteries during lower loads.

The system recovers kinetic energy during regenerative braking, charging the batteries while the bus is slowing down. This makes school buses excellent candidates for the technology because of their frequent stops. The plug-in option enables the batteries to be fully recharged through the electric grid.

Using plug-in hybrid electric technology, school buses can almost double their fuel economy to 12.7 miles per gallon (mpg) versus the 6.5 mpg for conventional school buses of the same size. The primary benefit for school buses, however, can be reduced emissions and the impact of unhealthy air on schoolchildren.

Standard hybrid vehicles show reductions of overall emissions in the range of 40 to 60 percent. Plug-in hybrid electric school buses can reduce emissions even more and nearly eliminate idling emissions.

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For more information, contact Ed Clark, Public Information.
Phone: (512) 322-6514
Pager: (512) 802-2000