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The county is beginning work on the nation’s largest transit facility powered by renewable energy

Posted on by darion

On Friday, Montgomery County broke ground on a project that will include solar panels, electric bus chargers and battery energy storage at the Derwood bus depot.

In about 15 months, the district will not only use electricity, but also generate it. In an emergency, if there is a power outage in the area, Ride On city buses will still be able to transport people.

Once completed, the integrated microgrid project will be the largest zero-emissions storage powered by renewable energy in the United States and the first on the East Coast to produce green hydrogen on-site.

The project is being carried out at the David F. Bone Equipment Maintenance and Transportation Center on Crabbs Branch Way.

The 5.65 MW microgrid project includes solar panels, electric bus chargers and 2 MW batteries. It includes a 1-megawatt hydrogen electrolyzer powered by local renewable energy.

The microgrid will produce ecological hydrogen necessary to power electric buses with hydrogen fuel cells.

“This is an important issue, and you are here at the beginning,” said David Dise, director of general services for the county. Once completed, the project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 51,000 tons over 25 years, which Dise said is “like taking 11,000 cars off the road.”

Speaking in the hot sun before a crowd of county employees and representatives of the various organizations involved in the project, Executive Director Marc Elrich said, “Hydrogen buses and electric buses are the wave of the future.”

But as important as this project is, the government cannot solve the climate crisis alone, Elrich added. “We still need to convince residents and businesses to change.”

According to Elrich, the federal government awarded him a $14.8 million grant.

The project is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2025. By 2035, it will power 200 zero-emission buses.

Council President Andrew Friedson praised county officials for seeking partners and “leading by example, Montgomery County is breaking its own Montgomery County records. We don’t just rest on our laurels.”

Juan Macias, CEO of Alpha Struxure, said he is pleased to be the county’s energy partner. His company also built the Brookville Maintenance Facility Shop.

Jeff Marootian, deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, summarized the project by noting, “It’s not just the future. This is today.”

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