How Electric School Buses Can Help Californians Save Money, Cut Pollution, and Keep the Lights On

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Right now, nine out of ten school buses across the country run on fossil fuels. California, however, leads the nation in electric school bus adoption, with more than 3,100 electric buses in the state. Every electric school bus provides an opportunity to cut air and climate pollution and save money in California communities. Electric school buses can also use vehicle-to-grid technology to send the power from their batteries back to the electricity grid to prevent blackouts, which can help the state avoid building additional costly energy infrastructure.

In this webinar, industry experts, state regulators, and researchers explored policies that maximize the benefits of scaling up electric school bus use across the state, especially in low-income communities. This webinar was the first in a three-part series about the climate benefits of electric school buses.

Presentations and Resources

Speakers

Robert Stafford

Research Associate, World Resources Institute

Robert Stafford is a Research Associate, focusing on Transportation Electrification and Grid Resiliency, and a part of the Electric School Bus Initiative. Robert comes to World Resources Institute from San Diego Gas & Electric, where he was the lead designer for their Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program. 

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Anna Bella Korbatov

Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Fermata Energy

Anna Bella Korbatov joined the Fermata Energy team in 2017. She manages the company’s policy and regulatory affairs strategy and lead’s the company’s collaboration with state agencies, utilities, and local jurisdictions on the design of Vehicle Grid Integration (VGI) rates and programs, make ready funding, interconnection policies, and grant-funded opportunities.

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David Wensil

Energy Commission Specialist, Fuels and Transportation Division of the California Energy Commission

David Wensil is an Energy Commission Specialist for the Fuels and Transportation Division of the California Energy Commission. In his role, David leads the implementation of the Zero Emission School Bus and Infrastructure block grant program, known as ZESBI, which provides funding for charging infrastructure to support Local Educational Agencies in their transition to electric school bus fleets. David holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

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Margarita Parra

Director of Transportation Decarbonization, Clean Energy Works

Margarita leads Clean Energy Works’ transportation portfolio. Trained as a chemical engineer from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia with a masters in Environmental Engineering from New Zealand and a diploma in Sustainable Development from India, Margarita has worked for more than two decades in Latin America, China, India, and the United States to reduce local air pollution and carbon emissions from transportation integrating sustainability and equity goals.

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