AMHERST — The Amherst school district is one of four statewide chosen to pilot electric buses.
The Baker administration awarded four $350,000 grants to schools in Amherst, Cambridge and Concord and the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District through the state Department of Energy Resources new Vehicle-to-Grid Electric School Bus pilot program.
“Massachusetts schools are leading the way by testing clean and resilient energy technology that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector,” Gov. Charlie Baker said in a press release issued Wednesday by the Department of Energy Resources.
Amherst school officials, including Superintendent Maria Geryk and Peter Crouse, transportation coordinator, could not be reached for comment about the bus.
“This pilot can drive home the opportunities for cities, towns, public authorities and businesses to clean up their vehicle emissions,” added Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito in the release, affirming the administration’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and petroleum use.
The first of their kind, the grants are intended to diminish the state’s petroleum use by about 22,680 gallons of gasoline per year. The pilot project will be organized by the Vermont Energy Investment Corp. and will weigh costs and benefits of operating the electric buses in the context of wider implementation.
“The new Vehicle-to-Grid Electric School Bus pilot program could prove to be a beneficial tool for our local school districts,” Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said in the release. “Congratulations to Amherst Public Schools and the other school districts awarded for pioneering the use of this innovative technology.”
State Rep. Ellen Story, D-Amherst, said in an email to the Gazette that “school bus exhaust pollution has been on my radar screen for 15 years,” and that “Amherst and the Legislature have been working on it ever since.”
“Amherst will be the perfect place to try these out,” said Story.