SDG&E and Cajon Valley Union School District Flip the Switch on Region’s First Vehicle-to-Grid Project Featuring Local Electric School Buses Capable of Sending Power to the Grid

Today San Diego Gas & Electric announced that it has successfully deployed an innovative technology that enables eight electric school buses to put electricity back on the grid when needed such as on hot summer days. A collaborative effort between SDG&E, the Cajon Valley Union School District and locally based technology company Nuvve, this is the first vehicle-to-grid (V2G) project to become operational in Southern California, helping to advance clean air and climate goals while also bolstering grid reliability.

This is also the first V2G project to come online in the nation, following the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) vehicle-to-everything (V2X) initiative announcement in Los Angeles in April. SDG&E, which started on the project prior to the announcement, is a signatory to the department’s V2X memorandum of understanding (MOU). The agreement is designed to bring together resources from DOE National Labs, state and local governments, utilities, and private entities to unlock the potential of bi-directional charging to increase energy security, community resilience, and economic growth while supporting the nation’s electric system.

As part of the five-year pilot project, SDG&E installed six 60kW bi-directional DC fast chargers at Cajon Valley’s bus yard in El Cajon. The pilot was celebrated at an event on Tuesday, July 26 with project partners and San Diego County District Two Supervisor Joel Anderson.

“This pilot project is a great example of our region being at the forefront of testing and adopting innovative technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen the electric grid,” SDG&E Vice President of Energy Innovation Miguel Romero said. “Electric fleets represent a vast untapped energy storage resource and hold immense potential to benefit our customers and community not just environmentally, but also financially and economically.”

On average, cars are parked 95% of the time. California is home to 1.1 million EVs, the largest concentration of EVs in the nation. Starting in 2035, all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California are required to be zero-emissions. Many local agencies and local companies are working to transition to electric fleets under SDG&E’s Power Your Drive for Fleets program, which provides infrastructure support. In addition to Cajon Valley, SDG&E is also working with San Diego Unified and Ramona Unified School Districts on V2G projects.