PEORIA, Ill. – Peoria Public Schools are one step closer to having electric school buses in their fleet.
The district’s school board Monday night, as part of their Consent Agenda, approved a letter of intent that will lead to the installation of an infrastructure that will lead to the charging stations and other equipment for the fifteen buses expected to be purchased.
That includes some new solar panels on top of Richwoods High School.
“There’s going to be some solar revenue that you’re going to be generating from the solar panels,” Michele James with Veregy, the energy company the district will be working with. “We calculated what the savings would be from going to your diesel buses to EV – that’s maintenance, and savings from your gas usage. On an annual basis, we estimate $214,000 a year in savings.”
The district received a nearly $6 million federal grant that will pay for the buses themselves. Veregy is looking for other grant money that can cover the cost of the installation of the solar panels and other equipment.
The district has a plan for where the buses will be used.
“We want to deploy these in the 61605 and 61603 zip codes,” said Joshua Collins, PPS Transportation Coordinator. “These zip codes seem to be heavily impacted…with air quality. We want to make sure that we’re deploying these clean vehicles in those areas to help the air quality in those areas, with those students.”
The buses are being made by a Joliet, Illinois-based company.
Also as part of its consent agenda, the board agreed for the district with the Peoria City/County Health Department for the installation of a Narcan vending machine at the Wraparound Center as part of the Health Department’s Opioid Overdose Response Plan.
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