NextEra Energy to Pursue Electrification of School & Public Transportation in US & Canada

NextEra Energy to pursue the electrification of tens of thousands of school and public transportation vehicles across the US and Canada.

NextEra Energy, the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from wind and solar resources, has announced that to has entered into a framework agreement with First Student and First Transit to establish a joint venture to pursue the electrification of tens of thousands of school and public transportation vehicles across the US and Canada.

The collaboration, the firm claims, brings together North America’s market leaders in school and public transportation and renewable energy to foster innovation and accelerate the mass adoption of zero-emission vehicles.

“The transition to electric vehicles for the school and public transportation sector is expected to play a critical role in helping communities improve air quality and environmental health for student passengers, transit riders and area residents. In addition, utilising the sizeable batteries of school and public transportation electric vehicle fleets for distributed energy storage and grid services has the potential to make a significant contribution to long-term sustainable clean energy transition in North America,” the firm stated.

Student Transportation Market

US and Canada combined represent the largest homogeneous student transportation market in the world, with approximately 520,000 yellow school buses in total. This market has remained consistent in size over time, with certain favoUrable factors driving fleet conversion to electric vehicles and potential V2G development.

The companies are collaborating to address these market opportunities by first capitalising on First Student’s fleet of 43,000 yellow school buses, the single largest fleet in North America, and nearly 500 depots located across 40 US states and seven Canadian provinces.

Transit Market

The two countries combined represent one of the world’s largest public transit markets, with approximately 160,000 buses and other vehicles in total. In addition, there are significant fleet opportunities in shuttle services that address a variety of passenger transportation needs.

The collaboration intends to focus on First Transit’s base of more than 300 customers to create new business opportunities and revenue streams associated with fleet electrification.

John Ketchum, President and CEO of NextEra Energy Resources said “the growing shift away from internal combustion engines is expected to drive over one-fifth of US energy demand by 2050. Working with First Student and First Transit will enable future investments in electrification upgrades and charging stations, as well as energy management services. As demonstrated by our recent acquisition of EIQ, the market-leading software platform for quantifying the value and timing of fleet conversions, this collaboration is consistent with our strategy as we continue to explore potential opportunities for electric and hydrogen transformation of the transportation sector.”