How is NYPA collaborating with transit agencies to support fleet electrification?
NYPA acts as an “owner’s engineer” managing the engineering, procurement and construction for electric transit bus charging projects for multiple transit agencies in New York State. We also do feasibility studies to assist state and local governments plan out their path to full fleet electrification and define the costs, technical hurdles and schedules.
How is NYPA preparing the grid to handle large-scale electric bus deployments?
NYPA works closely with the distribution utilities in New York State on this (NYPA is a transmission and generation utility). We participate in utility regulatory proceedings that affect our transit agency customers such as make ready, proactive build and demand charge reform. We are also looking at the state of the art on charge management software to more effectively manage electric loads and minimize demand charges.
Are there specific technologies or strategies (e.g., managed charging, V2G) that NYPA is exploring to optimize energy use for electric buses?
We believe transit buses could be part of virtual power plants and we are actively monitoring the grid of the future regulatory proceeding in New York to gauge the technical and economic feasibility of this.
What role do renewable energy and battery storage play in NYPA’s long-term strategy for clean buses?
We have examined the technical and economic feasibility of both technologies at multiple bus depots. We have found most of the facilities to have technical hurdles to rooftop solar and space limitations to battery storage.
What are the biggest lessons learned by NYPA and their work in supporting electric bus fleets so far?
It is really important to listen to the transit agencies’ unique needs. They may operate their buses in a different way from similar transit agencies and that may affect the specifications of the chargers. Also long-term
