Transit bus charging in Asheville gets $200,000 boost from Duke Energy

Duke Energy has awarded the Asheville Redefines Transit (ART) system a $200,000 grant to fund the five electric bus charging stations installed earlier this year.

"Asheville is making great strides to add electric buses to its fleet," said Lang Reynolds, director, electrification strategy for Duke Energy. "Charging infrastructure is a critical component of this effort and Duke Energy is pleased our grant can assist."

Since 2016, Duke Energy has helped expand charging for electric vehicles and buses throughout North Carolina. The program helped fund almost 200 public electric vehicle charging stations in North Carolina and also helped the city of Greensboro with transit bus charging.

"The city of Asheville is extremely grateful to Duke Energy to receive funding from its electric charging grant program. This funding is key to helping us run electric buses as part of our overall fleet and help us meet our sustainability goals," said Jessica Morriss, assistant director of transportation for the city of Asheville.

ART currently operates 17 vehicles in its peak fleet and serves primarily the city of Asheville with some service that extends to Black Mountain. The city recently approved the purchase of hybrid and diesel buses and ART placed five electric buses in service in June, which it continues to evaluate. The Duke Energy funding was part of a 2015 settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and environmental groups.

The legacy grant funding is separate from the $76 million Electric Transportation pilot being considered now by the N.C. Utilities Commission. The current proposal builds upon lessons learned during the earlier program. It will expand municipal and school bus charging infrastructure, as well as expand residential and public charging for passenger vehicles.