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WRI scores grant from Bezos Earth Fund, hopes to electrify all US school buses by 2030

The Bezos Earth Fund has awarded a grant of $100 million, to be disbursed over a five-year period, to the World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organization, for two separate climate initiatives. The first project is to develop a satellite-based monitoring system to improve monitoring of changes in land use and associated carbon emissions. The second is to accelerate the electrification of US school buses.

WRI is one of 16 groups that have received funds totaling $791 million from the Bezos Earth Fund.

School buses are an excellent candidate for electrification, as they drive predictable routes and return to central depots each day. Furthermore, they have significant downtime (many sit idle through much of the summer), making them a great potential resource for V2G applications. The kicker is that school districts, parents and policymakers tend to agree that freeing young children from breathing diesel smoke is a worthy goal.

There are over 450,000 school buses in the US, and WRI’s goal is to electrify them all by 2030. WRI will partner with local organizations with a history of working on transportation issues.

“We are grateful to the Bezos Earth Fund for this very generous gift to advance two game-changing climate initiatives at a time when they are urgently needed,” said WRI CEO Dr. Andrew Steer. “Building on our expertise and bringing together many partners, we will use these resources to accelerate transformative shifts in monitoring land use and carbon emissions and electrifying vehicles. These initiatives will cut emissions, create a healthier environment, spur economic opportunities, and improve the lives of millions of people in the United States and around the world.”

Source: World Resources Institute

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