In the disadvantaged community of Odell, Oregon a group of organizations wants to create a community resilience center during power outages using a bidirectional electric school bus, solar panels and a microgrid.
Bidirectional charging–which allows electric vehicles to both charge their batteries and also send stored energy to a building, grid or microgrid–was once seen as a wild idea. But the idea is gaining ground. Sixteen organizations are working to test the idea of using a bidirectional school bus to release energy to a microgrid during power outages and serve as a community sanctuary when the grid is down. But resilience isn’t the only benefit of this project. It will reduce air and noise pollution for the school, which is important because disadvantaged communities often suffer from higher levels of pollution.
Learn more about this innovative project by reading my story in Microgrid Knowledge: In this Disadvantaged Community, a Proposed Bidirectional School Bus, Microgrid and Resilience Center – and Many Challenges: https://www.microgridknowledge.com/electric-vehicles/article/55017816/in-this-disadvantaged-community-a-proposed-bidirectional-school-bus-microgrid-and-resilience-center-and-many-challenges