Denver Planning To Add 200 New Plug-Ins To Fleet By 2020
The city of Denver, Colorado, has committed to adding 200 new plug-in electric vehicles to its fleet by the year 2020, according to recent reports. As it stands, Denver only has 3 electric vehicles in its whole fleet.
This commitment will save the city around $800,000 over just the next decade as well as curtail 2,300 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, according to figures released in conjunction with the commitment.
The transition will begin taking place in 2018 as fleet cars cycle out of service, according to the energy and transportation administrator with Denver’s Department of Environmental Health, Tyler Svitak.
Svitak noted: “Ultimately, it’s going to have a lot of benefits for the city. Both financially and from the environmental perspective, it puts the city in a leadership position.”
The Denver Post provides more:
“Svitak said it’s tricky to predict how much the new cars will cost but thinks each electric vehicle will be $4,000 more than a typical gasoline replacement car. The city expects to receive a grant from Charge Ahead Colorado that would pay for 80% of that additional cost.
“Despite the higher price, the city estimates each electric car will likely save Denver $4,800 over its lifetime because they don’t require fuel and have fewer maintenance needs. A typical car in the city’s fleet lasts 7 years. Svitak said the new cars will likely last the same or more. The city hopes to use part of the $61.3 million given to Colorado from the VW settlement fund to offset the costs of adding charging stations.”
Notably, emissions from the transportation sector are Denver’s leading air pollution source, according to the Department of Environmental Health. So if transportation sector emissions were curtailed significantly, then the city’s air pollution problems could be lessened significantly as well.
Electric vehicle ownership rates in Denver have gone way up in recent years, from 20 registered vehicles in 2011, to 6,341 registered vehicles in December 2015.
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