Virginia City Continues EV Fleet Expansion

The city of Alexandria, Virginia, recently added to their growing electric vehicle (EV) fleet. The city fleet took hold of its first Mach-E Mustang along with its first all-electric Ford Transit.  

“Everyone is excited to see our sustainable and EV program grow,” said Darryl Syler, CPFP, fleet services division chief for the city of Alexandria. “As of this time, we have over 20 EVs and over 70 Hybrids. These are all light duty. We have a strong EV charging infrastructure in place and growing as we speak.”

Shortly after these additions, the fleet also took delivery of two additional Mach-E’s. One will roll out to our Sherriff’s department and the fleet hopes to deploy one to the police department as well. 

“As we move forward, expect more good news for the environment to come out of Alexandria Virginia soon,” Syler said. 

Portland Adds Zero-Emissions Fire Engine

Oregon's Portland Fire & Rescue’s newest fire engine is going green. In the fall of 2021, PF&R entered a Joint Development Agreement with Pierce Manufacturing, an Osh Kosh Corporation Company, to place a Volterra, a zero-emissions fire engine into service in the downtown core of Portland. 

The Pierce Volterra is a 42,000-pound GVW fire engine that has the capacity to seat 6 firefighters, with an onboard 500-gallon water tank and a single stage, 1500 GPM pump. For all intents and purposes in both appearance and operational capability, this fire engine is identical to the rest of the diesel-powered fleet in service by PF&R. 

The difference is the patented parallel-electric drivetrain featuring an electro-mechanical infinitely variable transmission, which allows zero-emissions operation in most operational situations when powered by integrated onboard batteries. 

These batteries can be charged to full capacity by a fire station-based vehicle charging infrastructure that is capable of full-electric fire engine recharge is less than 90 minutes. This battery-powered system is coupled with an internal combustion engine, providing continuous and uninterrupted power to the pumping or drive system as needed. The internal combustion engine is leveraged only for back-up power during extended emergency operations.

The city noted that another benefit to of the Volterra is reduced firefighter exposure to known carcinogenic toxins encountered in diesel exhaust fumes. 

“With too many firefighters succumbing to cancer because of exposures to carcinogens over the course of decades-long careers in the fire service, the introduction of the Pierce Volterra is an important step taken by the city of Portland and Portland Fire & Rescue to reduce the incidences of cancer in all current and future members of PF&R,” the city wrote in a release. 

CALSTART Launching Program for Zero-Emission Fleets

CALSTART has announced the launch of the Cal Fleet Advisor (CFA) program, aimed at assisting medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) fleets with the ins and outs of transitioning to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).

Cal Fleet Advisor will serve as a personal, interactive alternative to traditional formats such as websites, workshops, and mailers.

Developed in partnership with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), CFA addresses the confusion MHD fleet operators experience as they begin to investigate the resources, options, and requirements involved in making the transition to ZEVs.

CFA provides fleets a single point of contact that will help them navigate the process of identifying, financing, obtaining, and deploying zero-emission MHD vehicles for their public sector fleets.

CFA will also provide tracking and document-collection and filing assistance to fleets, answer questions, offer advice, and smooth the process in transitioning to zero-emission technologies.

The program is available to California fleets, with a primary focus on assisting smaller businesses and independent owner-operators who may not have the time or resources to effectively research and implement the steps necessary to transition to zero-emission vehicles.