California University Buys All-Electric Buses
Engineering360 News Desk | January 25, 2017The University of California, Irvine is poised to convert its on-campus buses to an all-electric fleet. The student-funded and -operated Anteater Express shuttle service is acquiring 20 buses from BYD (Build Your Dreams) for $15 million.
The 20 electric buses will feature UCI colors and emblems.The vehicles are expected to roll onto campus for the 2017-2018 academic year, joining a hydrogen electric bus. Undergraduates voted to pay up to $40 per quarter to the Associated Students of UCI to cover the bus purchase and other costs. Individual rides are free.
Going all-electric supports the University of California’s pledge to emit net-zero carbon greenhouse gases from buildings and vehicles by 2025.
The hydrogen electric bus doesn’t emit carbon—neither does the battery electric bus, says engineering professor Scott Samuelsen, who heads the National Fuel Cell Research Center. He says that while the production of hydrogen power and plug-in electricity does generate carbon dioxide, technology advances may make those energy sources carbon-free in the next few years.
"The hydrogen electric bus doesn’t emit carbon—neither does the battery electric bus, says engineering professor Scott Samuelsen, who heads the National Fuel Cell Research Center. He says that while the production of hydrogen power and plug-in electricity does generate carbon dioxide, technology advances may make those energy sources carbon-free in the next few years."
Its amazing the number of allegedly intelligent people that apparently won't assimilate the simple fact that all they are doing is moving the pollution from vehicles/buildings to power generation sites, fine if you have plenty of spare baseload nuclear generation capacity for overnight recharging, not if your relying on coal and oil, or more likely perhaps they are simply being disingenuous?
It'll also be creating more pollution anyway given the often diesel fueled energy required to mine, ship, refine, ship, package, ship, build battery pack, ship and install before use, then removal, ship, dismantle, re-refine any economically recoverable content, ship and dispose to land-fill non-recoverables from the battery at the end of its life.
Universities and their 'green' agendas often fall short in reality, window dressing to hide in plain sight these shortfalls is common place, and there's none so blind as those that will not see...