The Town of Huntsville is looking to test three light-duty electric vehicles as part of its transition away from fossil fuels.
During the Sept. 24 general committee meeting, David Zilkey, Climate Action Strategist, presented to council a report proposing the initiative as part of the Town’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and attempt to arrive at net-zero emissions by 2050.
“The Town’s fleet accounted for 37 per cent of the Town’s annual GHG emissions in 2018 – roughly 538 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents. Approximately 10 per cent of the fleet’s emissions come from its light-duty vehicles, including cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks,” reads the report.
The report states that this initiative is motivated by Council’s June 28, 2021, decision to declare a climate emergency, which set ambitious targets of reducing GHG emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050.
Zilkey said their proposed plan is to begin a pilot program using three vehicles in three different departments. This will allow them to evaluate operational efficiency, address any challenges associated with switching from gas to electricity, and analyze the financial and environmental benefits.
According to the report, the funding will come from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which offers a capital expenditures grant/loan program to facilitate municipal fleet electrification.
“The program offers a combined grant and loan for up to 80 per cent of project costs, up to $10 million. The grant size scales with the loan, for up to 15 per cent of the total amount,” states the report.
Zilkey mentioned they also plan to install charging stations, similar to the 220-volt units many residents have at home. He said they would want to install those on municipal owned sites in line with where we expect vehicles to be parked overnight.
“It’s a few thousand dollars to install the charger itself, but then after that, we are only paying for electricity,” he said. “There’s a conservative projection of 20 cents per kilowatt for price.”
Mayor Nancy Alcock was pleased with the initiative, relaying a conversation with the District Chair, who confirmed that the district has already implemented a highly successful program to replace some of its fleet with electric vehicles.
Staff were directed to conduct the pilot to determine how the new vehicles affect daily operations, mitigate any complications, and measure the resulting financial and environmental changes.
