ADOMANI Debuts a Converted All-Electric School Bus Fueled by Solar

Gilroy, CA, June 05, 2014 --(PR.com)-- The Gilroy Unified School District and ADOMANI teamed up to convert a 2007 50-passenger, type-D, diesel Blue Bird® school bus into an all-electric. The bus was unveiled at a ceremony in Gilroy on Tuesday, May 27 by Mayor Don Gage and the repower project team.

The Gilroy Unified School District provided ADOMANI a 2007 Blue Bird® diesel bus for the conversion. By replacing the diesel engine with ADOMANI’s patented electric conversion kit, a zero emission school bus was returned to the district, ready for use. The bus which has an overall range between charges of 40-miles was specifically tailored to have enough power for a 22-mile route. ADOMANI can convert both school and commercial buses with enough charge for up to 100-mile routes. ADOMANI has chosen to utilize the same plug as the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, making its buses adaptable to universal charging stations. The bus, which takes four hours to fully charge, is supplemented with solar panels, creating a truly zero emission vehicle.

ADOMANI was selected to perform the conversion by the nonprofit Breathe California of the Bay Area. All funds for the project came from a Health Trust grant to Breathe California and contributions from ADOMANI and its partners, with no cost to the Gilroy Unified School District.

Margo Sidener, President and CEO of Breathe California said, “I have long imagined a world where clean, zero-emission vehicles would take children to school ... and now that vision is a reality. The addition of solar fueling makes this a 'Zero Emissions Squared' project — zero-emission vehicle times zero-emission fuel — for cleaner air for all.”

This is ADOMANI’s second converted Blue Bird® school bus. ADOMANI has created a conversion kit specialized for the All American Blue Bird® school bus, that can be installed in a couple weeks. Ninety percent of the OEM parts are retained, allowing mechanics to remain familiar with parts like the transmission, compressor, radiator, alternator, etc.

Edward Monfort, the founder of ADOMANI and designer of this system, said, “I am thrilled to be working with school buses. After years of working with sports cars and trucks, it is great to enter this market that takes an older diesel school bus and turns it into a safe cleaner school bus for our children and the environment.”

ADOMANI has converted a wide range of fuel powered vehicles to all-electrics and hybrids, including a Ford Mustang, Ford F-150, Dodge Ram 1500 and a Ford Ranger. Now, with the All American Blue Bird® school bus under their belt, they will look to other fleet vehicles for conversion opportunities.

ADOMANI is a green initiative vehicle technology company specializing in gas/diesel to all-electric and gas/electric to plug-in hybrid vehicle conversions. For more information and financing options contact adomanielectric@gmail.com and visit www.adomanielectric.com. ADOMANI has arranged through Robert Garzee, the Project Manager, $200 Million in loans for conversions.