A collaborative initiative advancing community energy resilience through V2G-enabled electric school buses in Oklahoma.
Project Background
Recharge-OK is a National Science Foundation (NSF)–funded Civic Innovation Challenge (CIVIC 3.0) project led by the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (Award No. 2527318). The project responds to a growing challenge across Oklahoma: increasingly frequent severe weather events such as tornadoes, storms, floods, and extreme heat that threaten grid stability, disrupt schools, and affect community preparedness.
Rather than relying only on conventional backup power approaches, Recharge-OK explores how Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology can improve resilience by allowing electric vehicle batteries to exchange energy with the grid. The project focuses on electric school buses as a practical, community-centered solution for strengthening local energy reliability and disaster preparedness.
Why Electric School Buses?
Electric school buses are especially promising for V2G applications because they combine large battery capacity, predictable schedules, and limited daily route distances. When equipped with bidirectional charging, these buses can serve not only as transportation assets, but also as mobile energy resources that help support grid stability, reduce peak demand, and provide backup power during emergencies.
Recharge-OK investigates how these buses can be integrated into local energy systems without compromising their primary role in student transportation, creating a model that is both technically feasible and community-responsive.
Pilot in Shawnee, Oklahoma
The Recharge-OK pilot is being implemented in Shawnee, Oklahoma, where the community has experienced repeated severe weather events and power disruptions. Shawnee Public Schools serves as the primary pilot site, with electric school buses positioned as both transportation assets and potential energy resources for community resilience.
Building on Stage 1 planning activities, Stage 2 moves toward full-scale field demonstration through technical implementation, community engagement, and project administration. The pilot includes charger installation, system testing, performance evaluation, and coordination with local utilities, schools, and industry partners.
What the Project Does
Recharge-OK brings together researchers, schools, utilities, policymakers, and industry collaborators to design and evaluate a practical V2G model for Oklahoma communities.
- Retrofit and integrate V2G-enabled electric school buses with bidirectional charging infrastructure
- Assess grid resilience, peak demand reduction, and backup power capabilities during severe weather and high-demand scenarios
- Develop a data-driven decision-support platform that communicates real-time V2G performance, energy insights, and policy-relevant findings
- Conduct system testing, data analysis, and feasibility modeling to support broader deployment
- Explore economic and policy pathways that could support school-based V2G adoption in other communities
Community-Centered Approach
A defining feature of Recharge-OK is its community-engaged structure. The project includes a Community Advisory Board (CAB) and ongoing collaboration with schools, local government, utility stakeholders, workforce training partners, and community members to help guide implementation and decision-making.
Engagement activities include community-led workshops, focus groups, surveys, a community science fair, and student-led STEM campaigns. These efforts help ensure that technical innovation remains aligned with public needs, local priorities, and practical implementation realities.
Partners and Collaboration
Recharge-OK is supported by a cross-sector partnership that includes academia, schools, utilities, regional planning organizations, local government, workforce development partners, and industry collaborators. Key partners include Shawnee Public Schools, OG&E, IC Bus, InCharge Energy, Gordon Cooper Technology Center, ACOG, INCOG, the City of Oklahoma City, OU, OSU, and OU Health Sciences Center.
This collaborative structure helps ensure that the project addresses technical readiness, community engagement, workforce development, and long-term scalability in a coordinated way.
Long-Term Impact
Recharge-OK is designed not only as a local pilot, but also as a scalable model for broader adoption. By combining technical validation, public engagement, decision-support tools, and policy-relevant analysis, the project aims to inform future school-based and municipal V2G programs in Oklahoma and beyond.
The long-term goal is to demonstrate how public-sector assets, such as school transportation fleets, can support energy resilience, disaster preparedness, and infrastructure modernization in a way that is practical, financially informed, and community-centered.
Looking Ahead
As Stage 2 moves into implementation, Recharge-OK will continue advancing technical deployment, stakeholder collaboration, and public communication through its website, decision-support platform, and community-centered engagement activities.