Transit Systems Delivers Electric Depot Blueprint

Leichhardt depot fully commissioned and operational

Transit Systems, along with partners Zenobē and TransGrid, have completed construction of Australia’s largest electrified bus depot, providing a verified blueprint for the future of green transport.

Now fully commissioned and operational, the depot is an Australian first at this scale, boasting a large solar array, base load metering, onsite energy storage system, grid connection and vehicle charging.

Transit Systems COO Greg Balkin said the project was made possible by international collaboration, bringing the most advanced technologies from around the world into the Sydney bus network.

“Seeing the depot completed is a true milestone for the Australian public transport industry. We have not just set a benchmark, we have generated a blueprint of industry best practice.

“We’re incredibly proud of the outcomes achieved and how we have integrated the technology into a world class depot, while maintaining regular services,” he said.

Mr Balkin said one of the best outcomes was realising that the buses do not require as much charging as initially thought.

“With regenerative braking, the buses often come back to the depot with a significant amount of charge still available – this is obviously fantastic as it reduces the load on the recharging infrastructure. It also means less downtime for the buses and we can adopt changes within our network planning to maximise route and energy efficiencies,” he said.

Project overview

  • 55 electric buses are currently operational at the Leichhardt depot

  • Larger grid connection to the site (additional 1.5MVA) has been completed with Ausgrid

  • Commissioning of a 1.25MW/2.5MWh Tesla battery system to support the bus charging, shift solar power for charging and minimise impacts on the local grid

  • Commissioning of 388kW rooftop solar array, providing green onsite power generation

  • Commissioning of chargers including 5 x 120kW DC fast chargers and 31 x AC 80kW Chargers

  • Smart Charging software that monitors buses, charging rates, solar consumption, battery charge/discharge and overall depot electricity energy flows.

“This is by far Australia’s largest electrified depot and paves the way for Transport for NSW to reach their target and electrify all 8,000 buses across the network, using the latest technology.

“We thank our project partners Zenobē and TransGrid, as well as Transport for NSW, ARENA and CEFC for their support in bringing this project to life– we are all incredibly proud of the achievement.

“We look forward to announcing our next electrification project, taking all of our experience and learnings from this project into the future,” he said.

NSWJessie Zhao