Beacon Mobility - Methuen, MA
Powering the future: Beacon Mobility partners with Zenobē to deliver a landmark school bus electrification project.
Beacon Mobility is a leading school transportation provider in the US. As part of the EPA Clean School Bus program, Beacon was awarded funds to provide zero-emission student transportation services on behalf of a local school district in Methuen, MA.
Beacon partnered with Zenobē to deliver a project which has been described by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and National Grid as one of the most complex depot electrification projects delivered to-date. As part of Zenobe’s charge-as-a-service offering, the Zenobē team served as the single point of contact, ensuring the project was delivered as cost efficiently as possible, and critically, remains operationally reliable.
01.
Safeguarding Beacon’s operational needs, while meeting critical and custom site requirements.
Some of these requirements included: site redesign consultation for flood plain mitigation, local conservation permitting coordination, utility coordination across 2 utilities, route analytics, procurement and install of fit-for-purpose and proven hardware to meet daily route requirements, software commissioning, etc.
There was a number of factors that came together to create the perfect solution. It was necessary to have a strong collaboration with local operations team during the site design phases as well as strategic sourcing and procurement support. It was also essential to utilise experienced route analytics and value engineering to ensure power and hardware recommendations could meet daily route demands most cost efficiently. Critically, there was ongoing reporting and communications regarding project milestones, as well as testing of equipment with vehicle OEMs ahead of installation. Zenobē also established a 24-hour customer support and processes to mitigate risks and resolve issues in a timely manner.
02.
Maximise funding opportunities
This project was eligible for additional funding to acquire key, expensive equipment, but required assistance on how best to secure it. Capitalizing on every available incentive requires dedicated personnel to manage applications across competing timelines and different requirements.
Grants and incentives are essential to bring these projects to life, but it is notoriously difficult to navigate federal, state, and local programs. Consequently, funding opportunities are often left undiscovered and unused.
Zenobē’s dedicated Grants Manager worked closely with Beacon Mobility, the school district administrator, and the various funding agencies to successfully apply for a series of grants, which significantly subsidized the costs of the vehicles and charging infrastructure. Zenobē acquired an additional ~$400k for the project that otherwise would have gone unused. The team unlocked these funds by amending previous applications so that each focused on distinct elements of the EV depot development process – allowing for additional applications elsewhere. By “stacking” grants in this way, Zenobē minimized out-of-pocket expenses for Beacon.
03.
Comprehensive, integrated training needs for drivers and mechanics
EV school buses were a relatively novel technology for the site operators. Therefore, it was imperative that drivers and depot mechanics receive clear, comprehensive, and effective training on both the vehicles and the charging infrastructure to ensure continuity of operations.
The program trained the drivers on effective operation of an electric school bus, including how to use regenerative braking to add charge as they drive. The Zenobē team also collaborated with representatives from the charging infrastructure provider to train mechanics on vehicle and EVSE repair and maintenance. Driver and mechanic training is critical to ensuring electric school buses perform as expected, and run as long as possible
By designing the site for Beacon’s needs and deploying our expertise in the funding space, Zenobē’s turnkey charge-as-a-service model to successfully overcome the challenges of electrifying a complex site like Methuen. The depot is now fully operational with the vehicles providing local school with clean, sustainable student transportation.
In numbers
3
grant funding programs
35
vehicles supported (25 x TBB C2 Jouley, 10 x Micro Bird)
$1m
in savings with Zenobē’s delivery and grants funding expertise
