Revisiting V2G’s First Real Market: Are School Buses Still Beating Cars to the Grid in 2025–2026?

We haven’t covered school-bus Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) in a while, so here’s a fresh look. The “yellow leads first” thesis still holds—but with clearer proof points and sharper caveats. Pilots have graduated into utility programs, federal funding has scaled, and adoption is up. Yet costs, integration, and program design still decide who benefits—and how fast this spreads.

School buses pair large batteries with predictable downtime: they’re off-route during late-afternoon peaks, overnight, and much of the summer—exactly when grids need flexible capacity. That fit made early demonstrations like Beverly, Massachusetts possible, where a district bus exported power to the grid in 2021 and became a widely cited proof of concept.

Funding Tailwinds, Bigger Installed Base

The EPA’s Clean School Bus Program set aside $5B (FY2022–2026), with multiple award rounds completed. That backbone—plus state/utility dollars—grew the U.S. electric school-bus population from a few hundred (2020) to 5,100+ on the road by mid-2025, serving 265,000+ students daily. Not all of those buses do V2G, but they form the platform V2G programs can tap.

From Pilots to Programs

Several utilities have moved beyond one-off demos. Virginia-based Dominion Energy maintains an approved list of V2G-capable buses and infrastructure, giving districts a clear compliance path. In California, PG&E and partners launched a 2025 fleet-scale V2G deployment with Fremont Unified (14 buses, 22 chargers), structured for real market participation under utility tariffs and program rules—not just lab trials.

More States Are Entering

Momentum isn’t confined to early adopters. In Illinois, utilities began a 2025 V2G test with multiple districts, explicitly measuring reliability and compensation—exactly the “plumbing” (tariffs, metering, settlement) that turns pilots into repeatable products.

Lessons Learned (Costs Matter)

Not every pilot penciled out at first pass. Efficiency Maine’s 2024 assessment flagged high-cost bidirectional chargers, hardware/software growing pains, lower V2G uptime than control buses, and higher total cost of ownership (TCO) in its sample. The takeaway: standardize the stack (bus + bidirectional charger + utility interface + communications) and simplify settlement—or the admin friction eats the value.

What’s Different Heading Into 2026

Grid tightness. Surging data-center demand is straining capacity in several markets, increasing the value of fast-dispatchable, behind-the-meter resources. Parked, plug-ready school-bus fleets are a natural fit—if tariffs, telemetry, and warranties line up.

Program scale and durability. Federal money catalyzed orders, but deliveries and operations still face bumps. Progress will hinge on utilities publishing clear participation rules, paying appropriately for capacity and energy (where applicable), and minimizing administrative lift for districts.

What Fleets and Districts Should Ask Right Now

• Tariff/pilot fit. Is there a V2G/V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) tariff or pilot that pays for your value (capacity, DR—Demand Response—and, where eligible, ancillary services) with transparent baselines and settlement? PG&E’s V2X/V2G efforts offer a current template.

  
  

• Certified stack. Are your bus model, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) warranty, bidirectional charger, and communications on the utility’s approved list (e.g., Dominion’s)?

  
  

• Operational guardrails. Can you guarantee route readiness first, then assign safe cycling windows for summer/peak events (like Beverly’s pattern)?

  
  

• Aggregator role (defined). Who enrolls you, dispatches events, and handles settlement? These third-party aggregators manage your fleet’s energy-market participation so the district doesn’t have to—many early programs report smoother operations when this layer is outsourced.

  
  

Jargon Check (for busy readers)

• V2G = Vehicle-to-Grid (exporting energy from the vehicle to the grid)

• V2X = Vehicle-to-Everything (umbrella term for V2G, V2B, V2H, etc.)

• TCO = Total Cost of Ownership

• DR = Demand Response

• OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer

Conclusion: Yellow Still Leads—If Programs Get Practical

School buses remain V2G’s most credible near-term market: the use-case fits, the funding exists, and the technical path is proven. The next year is about turning playbooks into products—clear tariffs, certified stacks, and streamlined settlement that districts can actually run. If you’re revisiting V2G for 2026, start with utility alignment, insist on a V2G-ready hardware/communications stack, and pilot with a subset of buses long enough to validate both operations and revenue. Do that, and the “yellow market” stays the most practical way to make V2G real—at scale and on schedule.