{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Flanigan's Eco-Logic","title":"Alex Macharia - Schools Can Tap Electric Bus Fleets for Extra Energy and Profit","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2088,"description":"Alex Macheria is Vehicle Grid Integration Program Manager for PowerFlex, a firm that recently acquired The Mobility House where Alex worked for three years. He brings his love of wheels to the job, tackling the complex world of vehicle grid integration (VGI) and its multiple benefits. PowerFlex helps to connect fleets of electric vehicles, notably electric school buses, to the grid, simultaneously unlocking savings for fleet operators and utilities. By connecting these distributed storage devices, power grids call on EVs as capacity resources during peak periods, paying operators for their precious kilowatt-hours. In turn, a school district can earn as much as $2,000 per year per bus, while getting energy resilience to boot.\nThe Mobility House has been in the energy management space since 2009 doing cutting-edge projects that link EVs with the grid, notably at the Johan Cruyff Arena in the Netherlands where fans plug in their EVs to support the stadium's power requirements. In America, The Mobility House has worked with five electric utilities developing synergistic VGI approaches. Now with PowerFlex, a division of EDF Renewables North America, Alex and his colleagues will provide the same services at scale... accelerating the VGI technology in the commercial sector.\nTed asks Alex how he describes what he does for work at a cocktail party. Tough question, notes Alex. VGI is a complex topic covering a number of functions that involve electric vehicles' interactivity with grid services. His work is building on traditional unidirectional EV charging, tapping into the benefits of stationary energy storage assets. Electric buses travel predictable routes on set schedules, allowing for their valuable energy storage capacities to be at the ready during utility peak periods, especially in summer.\nAlex digs into his job and how PowerFlex works with clients and utilities, uncovering means to dispatch power back to the grid. He is working to explore and tap revenue...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/7kUbICrzk0aEuZffrVBGprBuBqZJlmqp9h-fda_2pHg/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzM1MTQ0LzE3MTE1/NjgzMTctYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}