VIA Metropolitan Transit is using a $5 million TIGGER award to add three all-electric, battery powered buses, powered with 100% renewable energy, into its San Antonio, Texas, bus fleet. When the buses and the related quick battery charge infrastructure are incorporated into the fleet, the buses will produce zero emissions and the system will offer the cleanest bus operation available from energy source to the road.

VIA purchased the three all-electric buses to replace three conventional diesel transit buses for improved vehicle efficiency. The buses are currently being assembled by the electric bus manufacturer, Proterra. Additionally, VIA contracted with its local energy provider, CPS Energy, to receive 100% of the electricity used by the buses through its Windtricity program.

Windtricity uses wind-powered turbines to generate grid electricity. Also, the bus charging stations will use solar photovoltaic (PV) panels for supplemental power at the charging stations. The battery powered, all-electric buses will operate along an existing downtown circulator route (the Yellow route). The Yellow route services 552,000 passengers each year. The route includes a brief layover at an existing downtown transit terminal that is wholly owned and operated by VIA. A bus charging station is being installed at this terminal to recharge the on-board batteries during the 15-minute bus layovers at the transit terminal. The buses are recharged once each route cycle.

The grid-sourced electrical energy (purchased through the Windtricity program) used to recharge the bus batteries is augmented with solar PV energy collected with panels sited at the transit terminal. All of the grid electricity consumed by VIA is generated with wind turbines. This completely renewable, fast charge scenario is providing valuable data to evaluate battery performance and battery life in a real world transit application.