Central Coast Council's fleet of battery and hybrid electric vehicles (EVs) are generating financial benefits and local opportunities as the cost of fuel continues to climb.
Council's long-term strategy to transition its light commercial and passenger vehicles to an EV fleet, is also in line with the NSW Government's 'Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Plan' and aims to leverage benefits as outlined in a 2020 'Uncovering the hidden costs and benefits from Electric Vehicles' report by EY for the Electric Vehicle Council.
The decision to invest in EVs over the medium to long term is already paying early dividends both from a financial point of view, as well as the opportunity to upskill Council employed mechanics in a relatively new field of 'high-voltage' servicing and maintenance.
In the last 12 months the cost of fuel for Council's fossil-fuelled fleet has skyrocketed and is expected to continue to rise. Council also expects this impact will see the demand for EVs in the wider community grow. The current 10-year plan, which started three years ago, is aimed to ensure that Council is gradually transitioning its fleet to EVs, as budgets and available technology allow for in a responsible and sensible year-on-year manner, rather than having to purchase them all at once at a time in the future when many other fleets will be seeking to do likewise. Each hybrid or electric vehicle introduced to date has displaced a full fossil-fuelled vehicle that had reached its end of service life. The next addition to the fleet is due in July 22, which will be a small Library book community delivery service van.
Council now has several 'smart' charging stations at different Council sites, with features that allow EVs to be charged off-peak. In the future, vehicle-to-grid charging capability may be explored. Increasing the number of charging stations has been a focus in the last 12 months to ensure our EV assets perform just as well as their fossil fuelled counterparts in real world scenarios, and that maximum use and value from the EV and hybrid fleet achieved. Council's fleet includes a hybrid 20-tonne excavator, a first-of-kind in NSW local government full battery electric tipper truck, six hybrid electric trucks, nine full battery electric passenger vehicles and 112 hybrid electric passenger vehicles.
Council continues to be active in its commitment for a sustainable future, evidenced also by the recent partnership with five Hunter based Councils to combine selected electricity requirements into a ten-year Power Purchase Agreement.
The NSW Government's 2021 commitment to support local councils and communities in this space also remains very welcome, and Council is continuing to explore funding assistance and subsidies under various programs currently on offer by the NSW Government.
