Celebrating Clean Energy Campuses

Tucked away on the outskirts of Riverside County, the Jurupa Unified School District is leading the way for clean energy on its campuses.

JUSD's supervisor of Maintenance and Operations, Ricardo Solis, who has a doctorate in organizational innovation, has spearheaded the district's commitment to a greener future through sustainability initiatives, including solar installations, smart waste programs and fleet electrification.

Adding to its list of projects, the district is partnering with Southern California Edison on its Charge Ready Schools pilot - a campus-focused program that will equip Jurupa Valley High School, Patriot High School and Rubidoux High School with 36 electric vehicle charging ports.

The district also committed to adding 100 additional charge ports through Charge Ready Light Duty, a program available to all businesses.

"These new chargers allow JUSD to serve as a role model within the community," Solis said. "We're helping bring equitable access to our staff and students' families with electric vehicles. It also gives us the chance to lead the way in making necessary changes toward clean transportation."

Launched in 2019, the Charge Ready Schools pilot includes 30 schools, with 250 EV charging ports set to be installed and energized by early 2025.

"The Charge Ready Schools program aims to expand EV charging infrastructure in disadvantaged communities for drivers who may not have access to home charging," said Dani Mahrer, SCE's eMobility project management team advisor. "Ensuring more public charging infrastructure is available is essential to providing equitable access to clean technology."

Charge Ready helps make the adoption of EVs more accessible and creates cost savings. The programs are crucial for accelerating California's shift toward clean energy and meeting zero-emissions targets, as detailed in Edison International's latest report, "Reaching Net Zero".

For its work around sustainability, JUSD - serving over 85% Hispanic students - was honored with a clean energy champion award at SCE's 14th annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration. The event highlighted Hispanic and Latino communities and business partners with the theme "Fostering Thriving Communities."

The celebration also recognized Active San Gabriel Valley with the Community Partnership Award for its civic engagement in public health and Cordoba Corporation received the Gwen Moore Diversity Award for its work as a diverse business enterprise.

Back at JUSD, the team plans to expand its clean energy adoption even further with a new innovative project: electrifying the school's cafeteria kitchens. In its early stages, staff from JUSD and SCE's Energy Education Center are collaborating to create a plan to turn this into reality.

"Sometimes you start with one idea and it just blossoms into a multitude of other positive effects," Solis said.

To learn more about SCE's Charge Ready programs, visit sce.com/evbusiness.