Mississippi Power, Forrest County Agricultural High School celebrate state’s first electric school bus

The school plans to use the electric bus to provide students with transportation to sporting events and educational functions.

Earlier this month, representatives from Mississippi Power and Forrest County Agricultural High School (FCAHS), the only independently functioning agricultural high school in the state of Mississippi, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony as the first electric school bus in the state first started operating in Brooklyn.

The full-size, Thomas C-2 Jouley all-electric bus replaces a diesel bus and will transport students within a 138-mile range on a single charge.

The bus will run on two 113kWh batteries with a total capacity of 226kWh, which is enough energy to power an LED light bulb for more than two years without ever turning it off. A 60kW DC Fast Charger was installed at the school to fully charge the electric bus in three and a half hours.

“We are excited for this monumental day for the state of Mississippi,” said Mississippi Power Marketing and Sales Director Giff Ormes. “Nine Mississippi school districts were recently awarded more than $36 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Working with our partners in education, we’re able to stay at the forefront of adoption as electric school buses become a new norm.”

Forrest County Agricultural High School plans to use the electric bus to provide students with transportation to sporting events and educational functions.

FCAHS Superintendent Dr. Donna Boone said she is thankful to be a part of this partnership with the FCAHS Foundation and Mississippi Power to receive an electric bus.

“As a rural school district, we are excited to have an opportunity to improve air quality with lower emissions and utilize the bus as a teaching tool for environmental citizenship,” Dr. Boone added.

FCAHS Foundation Board President Alania Cedillo said the school has always embraced its roots and demonstrated innovation in the business and technology of agriculture.

“The pursuit of an electric school bus is an extension of that philosophy, and we would like to thank Mississippi Power for their partnership, Empire Trucking for their support and FCAHS leadership for their inspiration,” Cedillo said.