A cost benefit analysis of a V2G-capable electric school bus compared to a traditional diesel school bus

Lance Noel and Regina McCormack

Applied Energy, 2014, vol. 126, issue C, 246-255

Abstract: Fuel expenses, diesel exhaust health externalities, and climate change are concerns that encourage the use of electric vehicles. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) policies provide additional economic incentives. This analysis evaluates the costs and benefits associated with the use of electric vehicles and determines the cost effectiveness of using a V2G-capable electric school bus compared to a traditional diesel school bus. Several factors were analyzed, including fuel expense, electricity and battery costs, health externalities, and frequency regulation market price. The V2G-capable electric bus provides the school savings of $6070 per seat in net present value and becomes a net present benefit after five years of operation. Without externalities, the net present benefit would be $5700 per seat. If the entire school district’s fleet switched to V2G-capable electric buses, the net present savings would be upwards of $38 million. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine how the factors influenced the costs and benefits. In all cases, purchasing an electric school bus is consistently a net present benefit. Policies could be set into place to incentivize public school adoption of electric buses, encourage more efficient batteries, and develop V2G capabilities.

Keywords: Electric vehicle; V2G; Cost-benefit analysis; School bus; Climate change mitigation; Diesel (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (41)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:126:y:2014:i:c:p:246-255

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.04.009

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