Valley Transportation Authority
VTA has committed to transitioning their fleet to 100% battery-electric buses by 2036. In order to meet this ambitious goal, they are partnering with Scale to deploy a microgrid that will give their San Jose bus depot a low-cost, sustainable, and reliable platform to power their growing fleet.
The microgrid is based on Scale’s modular microgrid framework, which integrates on-site solar, battery storage, and smart controls to ensure operations are optimized. Compared to relying on their utility, the microgrid will deliver electricity with 36% lower costs, 61% lower greenhouse emissions, 4 hours of zero-carbon resilience during grid outages, and the ability to incorporate a backup generator in case of a prolonged blackout. The switchgear and controls are also sized to accommodate future load growth, which will allow for capacity to be expanded with additional distributed energy resources as VTA’s all-electric fleet expands in the years ahead.
Big Picture Impact
61%
Lower CO2 Emissions
4+
Hours of Resilience
36%
Electricity Cost Savings
Microgrid Capacity at VTA
In conjunction with Scale Microgrids, VTA will deploy solar on the overhead carport canopy at the agency’s Cerone bus yard. The solar PV is paired with a battery storage system that can store 4 MWh of usable electricity and 1 MW of peak output power to provide back-up electricity at the bus yard. For extended outages, VTA will have the option to easily connect a temporary generator to provide additional backup power for fleet operations. The agency will also install two 1.5 megawatt fleet chargers to power 34 electric transit buses.
500 kW
Solar PV
4 MWh
Battery Storage
3 MW
EV Fleet Chargers
“This project combines several VTA goals. It shifts us toward greener sources of energy, saves VTA money that can be reallocated to other operating needs and provides the infrastructure to charge our next batch of zero-emission buses. Our riders will benefit from a newer, quieter fleet and we will decrease our contribution toward climate change and poor air quality.”
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