By Rod Walton, EnergyTech Senior Editor
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation will install a solar and energy storage microgrid to power its electric vehicle charging system of the future.
The California Energy Commission awarded LADOT a $6 million grant to fund the project. The city department is transitioning to an all-electric bus fleet by 2028.
“Los Angeles is on track to achieve a zero-emission future and our investments in clean transportation systems are driving that progress,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “The more electric vehicles we put on our streets today, the more we can lower emissions to ensure a healthier, more sustainable tomorrow.”
LADOT will deploy 1.5 MW of rooftop and bus solar canopy paired with a 4.5-MWh energy storage system provided by Apparent at the Washington Bus Yard to help power five Proterra 1.5-MW fleet chargers with 104 remote EV charging dispensers.
The microgrid will utilize Apparent’s intelligent grid operating system platform to integrate Proterra Energy’s charging infrastructure with energy generation to coordinate how and when the electric buses are charged with energy generated from solar or drawn from storage or the utility.
In 2019, the City of Los Angeles established the goal for LADOT to achieve a 100 percent electrified bus fleet by 2028. Earlier this year, Proterra delivered its 25th battery-electric ZX5 transit bus to support the agency’s transition to a fully electric fleet.
LADOT currently operates 29 EV buses in its fleet with 30 additional zero-emission buses expected to be in operation by Summer 2022.
(Rod Walton, senior editor for EnergyTech, is a 14-year veteran of covering the energy industry both as a newspaper and trade journalist. He can reached at [email protected]).
