On a lot in Aurora, the yellow school bus just picked up a second job. Cherry Creek School District has broken ground on a new electric bus depot and rolled out six electric school buses that are wired not only to haul students, but also to act as rolling batteries for the local power grid. The buses, part of a partnership with Highland Electric Fleets and Xcel Energy, use two-way charging so they can juice up overnight and send power back to the grid when demand spikes. District leaders say the move advances long-term sustainability goals while cutting transportation costs over time.
Under the deal, Highland will supply six bidirectional-capable Type C IC electric school buses and six 60 kW bidirectional chargers. The new bus barn and charging setup will be funded in part by about $2.4 million from Xcel Energy's electric school bus rebate program. Highland and Xcel are covering the infrastructure upgrades instead of the district, and Highland is on the hook for ongoing maintenance. The buses are being provided under a lease arrangement that district officials say keeps the total cost of ownership over twelve years competitive with diesel rigs.
How the buses will back up the grid
Highland's two-way chargers let buses fill up when demand on the grid is low, typically overnight, then discharge stored energy back to the system during high-use afternoon or evening hours. "Buses can also send extra energy from their battery back to the grid to help the community stay online during the hottest or coldest days," Highland said, adding that buses "top up later in the day" so routes are not disrupted. The setup effectively turns parked buses into a virtual power plant that utilities can tap in short bursts when demand jumps, adding resilience without building new peaker plants, according to The Colorado Sun.
Public dollars and the math
The Cherry Creek rollout folds into Xcel Energy's broader bidirectional charging demonstration and leans on a sizable rebate from the utility program, which district officials say totals about $2.4 million for the bus barn and two-way chargers. Highland's agreement calls for the six buses to be leased to the district for about $20,000 per bus per year, a structure the companies say trims the district's upfront capital hit. Once fuel and maintenance savings are factored in, the leased electric buses are projected to stack up well against diesel over 12 years, as reported by PR Newswire.
Part of a national push
Highland is not just tinkering in one Colorado district. The company has federal backing to run multiple vehicle-to-grid pilots under a U.S. Department of Energy effort to scale V2G demonstrations across the country. The SVIN project and related grants are meant to give utilities hard data on how bus and truck fleets can provide grid services, and Highland's work has already spawned pilots from Beverly, Massachusetts, to Montgomery County, Maryland. That federal support is a key reason utilities and school systems are testing bidirectional buses now, according to reporting by EVinfo.
What it means for Cherry Creek
Cherry Creek, which serves more than 53,000 students across the metro area, frames the project as a two-for-one: cleaner transportation plus long-term savings for taxpayers. "This partnership works to support our environmental goals while delivering long-term operational savings," Interim Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Perry said at the depot groundbreaking, the district reported. Highland executives also note that electric buses have far fewer moving parts than diesel models, which can ease routine maintenance workloads for transportation staff, per Cherry Creek School District.
For residents, that all translates to quieter buses on neighborhood streets and the potential for new revenue or grid credits when electricity prices surge, all while keeping existing routes intact. If the model scales, school bus fleets that spend much of the day parked could become a routine grid resource during heat waves or deep freezes, taking pressure off local power plants. Early coverage and industry reporting point to Cherry Creek's depot as a very visible test case for how electrified school buses can serve both students and the power system, according to SchoolBusFleet.
