The El Dorado Springs R-II School District now has thirteen electric vehicle buses driving school routes. They are the first Southwest Missouri district to replace all their diesel buses with more energy-efficient solutions.
According to district superintendent Brad Steward, the switch will save the school up to $18,000 annually.
"This has been a great learning experience and an exciting opportunity and an exciting thing for the Eldorado Springs R-II school district," he said.
Steward's school district serves 1,200 students across four schools – Preschool, elementary, middle, and high school.
While some of Missouri's school districts have replaced a few of their diesel buses with EVs, El Dorado Springs is one of the state's first to replace its whole fleet.
A five-million-dollar Environmental Protection Agency Grant made the EV buses possible for the school district.
The idea started before Steward was Superintendent. First Student, a school bus agency, approached his predecessor and wanted to write a grant to receive the electric vehicles.
While First Student owns the buses, the school district received the EPA grant. The company provided ample training for the school bus drivers. Steward said there is a substantial difference between driving an electric and a diesel bus, but it's been worth the training.
"It has been very well received. And that is both from the transportation department and from the students because otherwise it is neat that all thirteen of our route buses are brand new," he said.
The transition to electricity took about a year. The first four buses were on the road during the first semester, and the remaining nine EVs started operating this spring semester.
The cost of charging stations varies significantly depending on several factors. A simple dual port level one station with the lowest power capacity can cost as little as $596 per port, while a 350-kW single port DC fast charger can cost as much as $140,000.
The district received an energy efficiency project loan of $156,000 through the Department of Natural Resources. The loan will off-set the charging costs of the EVs with 240 solar panels.
The loan is expected to be paid in the next nine years, using the energy costs saved by the solar panels.
While the buses are fully functional, the solar panels will not be complete until next week.
"We are hoping to see a drastic reduction in the overall electric bill once we get our Solar's up and active," Steward said.
According to the Missouri DNR's press release, the energy efficiency project will save $17,830 annually - reducing electricity use by more than 176,572 kilowatt hours.
Those energy savings are equivalent to removing 38 passenger cars from the road for a year.
Russ Bartley is the loan and grant supervisor for the Missouri DNR's Division of Energy. He said he is grateful for anything he can do to help the state's school districts save money.
"I am really excited about the opportunity our loan reimbursement program has to help all the applicants we get. Whether it be with the small school districts or larger school districts, or city governments," Bartley said.
The DNR's Energy Loan Program has existed since 1980. Since its establishment, it has been awarded more than 620 loans, equivalent to $118 million in completed energy efficiency projects.
