Congressman Eric Sorensen (IL-17) attended a ribbon cutting ceremony at Williamsfield Schools to launch a fleet of zero-emission school buses for the district and highlight his work to improve air quality for students.
“I’m honored to stand with local leaders to launch a critical service that will deliver cleaner air for our children when they travel to and from school,” said Sorensen. “Williamsfield Schools is leading the way in modernizing its energy systems and mitigating extreme weather events in our region. This project would not be possible without federal partnerships, which I will continue to help foster in Congress.”
“These new electric buses clean the air our students and drivers breathe on the way to and from school each day. But that’s just a part of the story. By leveraging vehicle-to-everything technology, our school buses flip from being energy consumers to energy assets. When construction of our campus microgrid is complete, these buses will provide energy to our building and be able to support the local grid as needed. Last but not least, they will serve as mobile energy assets to support our surrounding communities in the event of an emergency or disaster,” said Tim Farquer, superintendent of Williamsfield Schools.
“Children in Illinois and across the country – who, because of their developing lungs, are among the more vulnerable members of our society – deserve to breathe clean air when they are traveling to school,” said Larissa Koehler, Director of Vehicle Electrification and Senior Attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund. “Shifting to zero-emission vehicles is the right thing to do to prevent worsened asthma, missed school days and worsened academic performance. We applaud Rep. Sorensen for highlighting this critically important issue.
Sorensen joined Williamsfield Schools superintendent Tim Farquer, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 Administrator Tony Maietta, and other environmental leaders to launch the fleet of school buses, which will improve air quality for students and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
The ribbon cutting and launch comes after $14,994,951 in funding was announced from the Department of Energy (DOE)’s Renew America’s Schools Program to a coalition of school districts across Illinois. This funding, intended to support energy improvements in K-12 schools, was secured in part due to the leadership of Williamsfield Schools.
During the visit, Sorensen saw firsthand how Renew America’s Schools Program funding is helping Williamsfield Schools develop a new, modern microgrid to conserve resources, provide backup power during emergencies, and support the new fleet of buses.
You can view the full livestream of the ribbon cutting ceremony, along with remarks from Sorensen and leaders here.
You can view photos from the visit here.
***Courtesy of Congressman Sorensen***
