A Microgrid for Every Electric Bus Stop

by Lisa Cohn of Microgrid Knowledge

Off the coast of Massachusetts, on the history-filled island of Martha’s Vineyard, tourists may soon find themselves journeying into the future on a bus that is wirelessly charged by microgrids.

The microgrids are part of the Vineyard Transit Authority’s larger clean energy transportation plan, now being put in place with electric buses, wireless chargers, energy storage, solar and demand management.

The microgrid element of the plan comes into play in a couple of different ways. First, the authority is developing a microgrid at its maintenance and operations center in Edgartown. The microgrid will use energy storage connected to a new 700-kW DC solar installation, electric vehicle charging stations, and a diesel generator.

Second, as the authority transitions to a fully electric bus fleet, it plans to add in-route charging sites that will operate as smaller, independent microgrids that use energy storage. The authority is converting 10 diesel-powered buses to electric.

The transit authority recently chose Momentum Dynamics to provide wireless electric vehicle (EV) chargers for buses that operate on a route in the town of Edgartown, said Andrew Daga, CEO of Momentum Dynamics.

Daga said this is one project in a new trend...continue reading on Microgrid Knowledge.