Testimony to the Governors Council on Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

State Fleet Experience with Alternative Fuels

Frank SanzoApril 23, 2010

Fleet Operations Who we are

EO 22: reduce fleet size by 20%

Fleet composition

Agency Needs Vehicles are purchased to meet

agency needs. Some examples: Larger vehicles to accommodate

specialized equipment Space needs to transport

children requiring car seats

Cost-consciousness

Compliance Requirements &Other Concerns Federal Law

Environmental Policy Act (EPAct)

Connecticut State Law

Vehicle availability Minnesota Dept. of Administration – “limited vehicle types available”

Environmental concerns

Costs City of New York – “…challenge is the steep procurement cost” Washington/WWU – “life cycle costs are significantly higher than

conventional equivalent vehicles”

Where do Electric Vehicles fit in with other fleets? 34 responses to survey:

59% do not own electric vehicles 41% own some type of EV

Benefits Fuel economy/costs, low emissions, great PR, quiet operation

Challenges Driver training, steep procurement and repair costs, low mileage, reliability,

establishing infrastructure to recharge, limited vehicle types available, efficient exclusively in low mileage urban operations, uncomfortable, charge times

Fleet Experience with…Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) What is CNG?

Limited CNG fueling locations

Meeting agency needs “The CNG fuel tank was discovered to take

up most all of the trunk space of the vehicle…Department of Children and Families child protection workers found bi-fuel CNG vehicles particularly troublesome because they could not store child seats in the trunk for use with children who had to be removed from their home and safely transported to other locations”

Fleet Experience with…Ethanol (E-85)

What is E-85?

Costs average $1.50/gallon more than regular unleaded gasoline

Efficiency lower than regular unleaded gasoline

Performance University of Minnesota – one challenge is “shorter range in cold weather”

DAS/Fleet Operations Overall Findings Compressed natural gas vehicles do not meet the core mission needs of

some agencies, such as DCF, and vehicles running on ethanol have issues with performance, cost, and efficiency.

Despite several challenges, plug-in electric vehicles do have a place in the state. We support the plan to develop the transportation sector and use universities as test bed opportunities.