Canada has tried a novel method of building resilience in communities to withstand extreme weather conditions. This involves the use of electric school buses for providing heating to people in emergency warming centers when regular electricity fails.

This strategy is being piloted on the Prince Edward Island province where electric school buses with vehicle-to-grid technology are able to store electricity and provide it back to the facility whenever needed. In such a way, it will allow emergency warming centers to stay open during severe electricity outages, which is an extra source of backup electricity.

Making school buses emergency power sources

This project uses the electric buses from Lion Electric that use vehicle-to-grid technology. This is different from regular school buses because the electric buses will have the capability of being used as a mobile battery.

These buses will be charged when the electricity demand is low and then later used to supply electricity to the facilities in the event of an emergency. The school bus will thus perform the role of providing energy to the emergency centre in addition to its main duty.

The North Rustico Lions Club in Prince Edward Island was chosen as the site for testing this project. The project was conceived as a result of the huge power outages caused by Hurricane Fiona that struck most parts of the island in 2022.
The idea of the electric bus project presents an opportunity for communities to move towards cleaner and quieter electricity generation than diesel generators alone. The electricity generated by the buses could potentially be a good backup power source in times of emergencies when electricity from the grid fails.

A flexible solution without building infrastructure

Another benefit that stands out about this solution is that it utilizes already-existing infrastructure.
Buses are already used by communities around the country as means of transport. If such buses were electric and equipped with vehicle-to-grid technology, then they could have multiple functions for communities.
Rather than building special battery storage facilities for each emergency location, communities would have the option of using the buses as portable sources of electricity.
This solution can even be improved in the future. As mentioned in a climate action report by the Rural Municipality of North Shore, electric buses in Prince Edward Island could potentially have vehicle-to-grid technology added.

Beyond transportation to emergency preparedness

Through the project, it is possible to see how electric buses can serve a different purpose other than simply transporting people from one place to another.

With the increase in extreme weather and prolonged outages, communities are becoming increasingly interested in finding flexible solutions that will allow them to continue to have access to some basic utilities. This can be done through the use of electric buses, which could store energy during an emergency situation.

Hence, the project is not only about transportation. In fact, the project shows how current community infrastructure can possibly be used to solve other community challenges.

Though the solution provided by the technology cannot be used instead of warming centers and emergency shelters, it will certainly allow communities to ensure they stay open despite the lack of power.

In Canada, due to harsh winters with freezing temperatures and heavy snowfalls, such solutions may be increasingly useful.
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