Driving the Energy Transition with the Nation’s Largest Electric Bus Charging Depot

Alongside a fleet of electric buses that gently hummed under towering canopies of solar panels, Biden administration officials, federal, state and local policymakers, and corporate leaders gathered on a chilly, wet Monday morning to celebrate a milestone in sustainable transportation: the official launch of the first microgrid to power electric buses in the Washington region. 

On the heels of deploying the nation’s largest fleet of electric school buses, Montgomery County continues to set the pace for jurisdictions nationwide with the launch of the Brookville Bus Depot located in Silver Spring, Maryland. 

The facility features a 6.5 MW microgrid that utilizes onsite solar canopies, natural gas generators, and batteries to provide uninterrupted power for up to 70 electric buses. As a result, the fleet of electric buses will reduce lifetime emissions by 62 percent, the equivalent of more than 160,000 tons of greenhouse gas reduction over the next 25 years.

AlphaStruxure, a joint venture of Schneider Electric and The Carlyle Group, utilized their innovative Energy-as-a-Service approach to develop the project at no upfront cost to the County and guarantee predictable operational expenses. 

Leveraging our integrated communications and government relations approach, Lot Sixteen led efforts to drive media coverage, to secure the participation of federal officials, and align corporate partners and government stakeholders around the launch. 

Lot Sixteen secured print and broadcast exclusives with the Washington Post and Washington’s NBC regional affiliate to highlight the announcement of the project, sharpening AlphaStruxure, Carlyle, and Schneider Electric’s messaging to position them for the launch, and driving publicity around the project’s ribbon cutting ceremony.  

Federal officials in attendance included U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Polly Trottenberg and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation Michael Berube, among others.

Press coverage of the ribbon cutting blanketed the region, with stories from all local networks, major local radio outlets, and digital local and trade outlets. 

As counties and municipalities race to meet climate pledges and electrify their fleets, the Brookville Bus Depot will serve as a national model for how public private partnerships can drive down emissions, reduce costs for taxpayers, and boost the resilience of our infrastructure in the face of a rapidly changing climate.

But projects like these only serve as a model if there’s broad awareness of their existence. Elected officials and the public need to see them up close and understand their value.

Brookville’s arrival has been hard to miss.

“To the rest of the country, we say, get on the bus — because this is the infrastructure of the future,” Representative Raskin told the audience in his remarks.

With the success of this project, it's certain that there are many more who will heed the call.