Public Schools Leading the Way - The Generational Opportunity and Management Challenges of Deploying Electric Vehicle Charging and Energy Storage at K-12 School Sites

There are approximately 98,000 kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) public school sites in the United States covering roughly 2 million acres of land. Given the growth of electric vehicle (EV) adoption and federal goals of 500,000 installed EV chargers by 2030, K-12 public school sites present a once-in-a-generation opportunity to supplement the estimated 115,000 fossil fuel stations currently serving internal combustion engine vehicles in a century old market.

K-12 public schools account for 50.8 million students and 3.7 million full-time employees. 16.4% of the nation’s population is present at a K-12 campus on any given school day. Moreover, in urban / suburban settings, most homes are within 3 miles of a K-12 public school site. Thus, providing widespread access to EV chargers across all communities is one of the many appealing benefits of these sites.

Meshing EV charging with established solar photovoltaic (PV) technology and emerging battery energy storage system (BESS) technology compounds potential to reduce carbon emission while optimizing grid utilization. However, despite the clear beneficial possibilities of K-12 school sites, there is a multitude of challenges to be considered and addressed for nationwide investment to be successful.