Making transportation greener has been a central theme to today’s Optimist Daily. We’ve had a story on cargo ships, another on planes, and now another about electric busses. According to research, electric buses alone will save an astounding 270,000 barrels of diesel demand in 2019 – every single day. And while countries around the world are slowly electrifying their bus fleets, China is solidly in the lead. The country is home to nearly 99 percent of all electric buses in operation, where many mega-cities are closing in on 100 percent electric-powered public transport.
Apart from the health benefits and lower emissions of taking diesel away from the streets, electric vehicles are becoming steadily more attractive because the future of energy looks to become increasingly renewables-based. China is a good example, as it is investing heavily in wind energy. However, it leads to the question of what to do with excess electricity production when demand is low, such as at night. This is where electric buses prove their value once more, as they run during the day and charge at night, thus contributing to stabilizing the energy grid and providing a cheap way of seriously boosting energy storage capacity.
