Porterville USD Taps ForeFront Power for Zero-Emission Infrastructure Project Including Solar, Storage, Microgrid & EV Charging

Porterville Unified School District (PUSD) is set to develop a comprehensive solar, battery energy storage, microgrid, and electric vehicle (EV) fleet charging project to meet the District’s intersecting energy, transportation, and resilience needs with clean, renewable, lower-cost electricity.

To develop the project, PUSD has partnered with ForeFront Power, a leading developer and asset manager of commercial and industrial-scale renewable energy solutions, as well as The Mobility House (TMH), an independent charge management provider. The project is being funded in part via a U.S. EPA Clean School Bus (CSB) Program grant, which the District secured with support from CALSTART, a nonprofit organization that connects businesses, government agencies, and industry partners to accelerate the adoption of clean transportation technologies.

The PUSD Zero-Emission Transportation Infrastructure Project and Microgrid will include a 763 kW solar array mounted on existing shade structures at the District’s north and south parking lots, along with a 408 kW / 1632 kWh battery storage system to store solar energy, provide resiliency, and discharge power to shave peak demand. A microgrid controller will enable the facility to disconnect from Southern California Edison’s electrical grid when needed, drawing power directly from the District’s on-site solar energy and battery storage assets.

The solar-plus-storage system will support 35 DC fast charger ports to serve the District’s planned fleet of electric school buses. These fast chargers will be connected to The Mobility House’s charge management system, ChargePilot®, which will enable the fleet to draw power directly from PUSD’s on-site energy systems in tandem with grid electricity. The EV charging infrastructure will also include eight charging ports in the north parking lot that will serve the District’s “white fleet.” Two of the eight chargers will feature bi-directional charging capability, which enables an EV to function as a “battery on wheels,” storing and discharging power back to the grid with vehicle-to-grid services (V2G). V2G technology will help the District support grid resilience, offset energy expenses, and extend an additional clean energy resource to students, staff, and the broader community.

Both V2G and microgrid technologies are integral to Porterville’s resiliency strategy, which includes protecting the broader community in the event of emergencies and power outages, such as Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events.

“We are excited to advance this important infrastructure project, which supports the District’s long-term goals for sustainability, energy resiliency, and responsible stewardship of public resources,” said Brad Rohrbach, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, Porterville Unified School District. “This project represents a significant investment in our students, schools, and community, while helping position the District for a more efficient and sustainable future. We are grateful to CALSTART for their critical support in helping the District secure this grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We also appreciate the partnership and expertise provided by ForeFront Power and The Mobility House.”

Upgrading the District Fleet, A Community Lifeline

Located in Tulare County in California’s Central Valley, the Porterville region experiences some of the nation’s worst air quality, which disproportionately affects student respiratory health. PUSD serves more than 13,000 TK–12 students across 22 campuses, 88.9% of whom are from socioeconomically disadvantaged households, making the District’s transportation fleet a critical lifeline for many students who rely on school buses for access to education and extracurricular activities. In response to these conditions and rising energy costs, the District launched its PUSD Energy & Sustainability Program in 2019, aiming to reduce energy costs and GHG emissions by 80% by 2030, and is pursuing this EV infrastructure project as a key pillar of the program.

Once complete, the 1,171‑kW solar, battery storage, and microgrid system is expected to produce nearly 1,425,000 kWh of clean, renewable electricity annually. This onsite generation, combined with smart dispatch of the battery and V2G resources, is designed to offset approximately 80% of the District facilities’ electricity consumption—including the anticipated annual SCE utility bill for electric bus charging—and avoid an estimated 21,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions over the 30-year project lifecycle. The District’s plan to transition all school buses to electric by 2035 will save an additional 15,000 metric tons in avoided CO₂ emissions from reduced tailpipe pollution, bringing their total expected CO₂ emissions reduction over the same 30-year period to approximately 37,000 metric tons. This is equivalent to the GHG emissions from over 3.6 million gallons of diesel fuel burned.

Public-Private Partnership Enables Long-Term Budget Certainty and Savings on Electricity and Fuel

Designed, engineered, and developed by ForeFront Power, the future project is designed for an expected lifetime of 30 years. During this period, PUSD will partner with ForeFront Power for ongoing Asset Management services. This project will provide PUSD with budget certainty while reducing its dependence on fossil fuels to power its fleet. The transition to electric buses will lower fuel and maintenance costs and provide long-term savings over the project’s lifetime, protecting PUSD’s budget from increasing diesel and utility rates.

“We applaud Porterville USD for pursuing this innovative project for zero-emission infrastructure,” said Dr. Ruben Fontes, CEO at ForeFront Power. “When complete, this clean energy portfolio will serve as a national model for how vulnerable communities can mitigate rising energy and fuel costs, improve public health, meet ambitious climate goals, and protect themselves from climate emergencies.”

"We are glad to be a part of such an innovative and ambitious project to benefit the school district and community of Porterville,” said Greg Hintler, CEO of The Mobility House North America. “Clean energy technologies such as solar microgrids, electric school buses, and V2G have enormous potential to provide clean and affordable energy and transportation solutions for school districts and communities across the country.”

U.S. EPA’s Clean School Bus Program Delivers for Porterville

The upcoming project is anchored by a major federal investment through the U.S. EPA’s Clean School Bus (CSB) Program. Porterville Unified School District has secured federal grant funding to replace diesel buses with zero‑emission buses and install fast charging and clean energy infrastructure. As part of this award, the EPA funds Porterville USD directly, and CALSTART serves as the District’s technical and project management partner—handling implementation support, monitoring and reporting, workforce and community programs, and positioning the District for future federal and state grant opportunities. PUSD has also pursued other funding opportunities including California Air Resources Board and California Energy Commission’s Zero Emission School Bus and Infrastructure (ZESBI) incentive project.

“PUSD’s commitment to decarbonize their fleet is transformational for the San Joaquin Valley, for the broader Porterville community, and for school districts that are navigating similar transitions. Funding programs that reduce capital costs are critical to make these school electrification projects possible,” said Valerie Thorsen, P.E., Regional Director at CALSTART. “PUSD is not only transitioning their fleet, but they have also provided EV internships in partnership with Climate Action Pathways for Schools and are actively enabling clean energy jobs through their Academy of Energy and Resource Occupations (AERO) Pathways Program.”

Procurement Assisted by Joint Power Authority SPURR and the PAVE Program

PUSD procured its Zero-Emission Transportation Infrastructure Project and Microgrid by leveraging the Procurement Assistance for Vehicle Electrification (“PAVE”) Program. The PAVE Program is managed by SPURR, a joint powers authority dedicated to helping the California public sector control and reduce utility expenses. PAVE is designed to help public agencies streamline the procurement process for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure through an easy infrastructure roadmap and a single source for planning, installation, and management of complicated multi-phase EV charging infrastructure projects. Through PAVE’s integrated RFP process, the District selected ForeFront Power to develop, finance, and construct its EV charging infrastructure project, and The Mobility House (TMH) as its charge management technology provider.

Advancing PUSD’s Climate Action Pathways for Schools (CAPS) Student Initiative

This upcoming project will also advance PUSD’s Climate Action Pathways for Schools (CAPS) initiative by linking classroom learning, career pathways, and real-world clean energy infrastructure. Through CAPS-aligned project-based units, energy audits, and analysis of the District’s solar, energy storage, and EV charging systems, students will use the campus as a living lab to build skills in renewable energy, sustainability, and conservation. Porterville USD, ForeFront Power, CALSTART, and The Mobility House have also developed a community outreach program to educate local residents on the clean transportation and air quality benefits of the microgrid and EV transportation infrastructure, along with hands-on CAPS internships that provide experience in zero-emission fleet operations while advancing district climate and sustainability goals.

ForeFront Power | www.forefrontpower.com