Nation's capital sees first microgrid-powered electric buses with launch of Alphastruxure project

Source: Kathy Hitchens | · MICROGRID KNOWLEDGE · | November 2, 2022

The first microgrid-powered electric buses are now on the road in the Washington, D.C. area.

Source: The first public transit depot powered by a solar microgrid in Washington, D.C. area is now up and running.

A much-awaited microgrid — one that highlights the growing synergy between microgrids and electrification — went live this week in Montgomery County, Maryland. The project powers electric buses with a microgrid for the first time in the Washington, D.C., area.

The 6.5-MW microgrid was built by AlphaStruxure, a joint venture of Schneider Electric and the Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm, under a long-term energy-as-a-service (EaaS) agreement the company has with the county. Located at the Brookville Smart Energy Bus Depot, it will power the Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s Ride On transit electric buses.

Described as the transportation infrastructure of tomorrow by AlphaStruxure CEO Juan Macias, phase one of the microgrid project includes 1.6 MW of solar photovoltaic canopies, renewable natural gas-ready on-site generation, 3 MW of battery energy storage and more than 4.14 MW of charging capacity.