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New York Power Authority Clean Transportation
Update March 2006
Greetings from the New York Power Authority!
It’s been a while since our last update. We’ve
been very busy with our activities to promote the use of electric
and hybrid-electric vehicles in New York State and we have a lot of
news to share.
E-Cars, Trucks, Buses….We’re on a Roll
Our 2005 Electric-Drive Vehicle Report, a year-end
tally of our efforts to expand the use of clean-fueled vehicles,
shows that NYPA has helped to place about 800 electric-drive
vehicles with customers around the state and in its own fleet.
Ranging from hybrid-electric trucks and buses to all-electric
utility vehicles and neighborhood cars, these vehicles have logged
over 5 million miles since our first electric car rolled into
service in 1991.
“In addition to the vehicles we’ve placed in
service, a number of our projects focus on reducing emissions on
existing vehicles,” said Helen Eisenfeld, director of cost control
and electric transportation. “For example, we have programs to
install emission control devices on 1,500 diesel school buses in New
York City, and on garbage trucks in Queens.”
The Vehicle Report demonstrates the continued
viability of all-electric vehicles and advances in hybrid
technologies, and highlights the commitment of NYPA’s customers to
support Gov. George Pataki’s efforts to provide a cleaner
environment and reduce dependence on foreign oil.
“In next year’s report, we will include a study
that quantifies emissions reductions and fuel savings by project,
region and customer from 1991-2004,” said Eisenfeld. “The number of
vehicles in service tells part of the story, but the emissions
reductions are an important measure of our success.”
Making Strides Toward Greener Pastures
When we think of air pollution, scenes of
smog-screened cityscapes and expressways crammed with
bumper-to-bumper traffic come to mind. In fact, air pollution is a
greater menace in areas where we least expect it—the bucolic parks
and green spaces where we go to work out, relax, rest our eyes and
breathe clean air. But such green oases often are plagued by high
levels of air pollutants from the utility trucks and lawn care tools
used to make them look so inviting.
We recently launched a program known as Green
Zones, targeted for parks, college campuses and other limited access
areas. It is designed to replace traditional gasoline- and
diesel-fueled vehicles and equipment, both on- and off-road, with
cleaner, more efficient electric and hybrid-electric vehicles and
outdoor power equipment. Several customers around the state have
signed on to the program, including Niagara Falls State Park,
Bethpage State Park on Long Island, Bronx Community College, Queens
College, Hudson River Park Trust and the cities of Utica and White
Plains.
In fact,
the City of White Plains experienced the impact of this program
almost immediately when it received two Chevrolet Silverado
Hybrid–electric trucks two days before the season’s worst snowstorm
in February 2006. The trucks proved instrumental in helping the city
dig out from under nearly two feet of snow. White Plains
Commissioner of Public Works Joseph Nicoletti Jr. said the trucks
performed flawlessly “under the harshest of conditions, while saving
fuel.”
We work with our partners to identify products
(both commercially available and new technologies) that could
adequately replace older equipment. We also provide technical
assistance and co-funding to help with their purchase and
implementation. For instance, we are currently testing a
custom-designed Club Car Carryall truck, a modified electric golf
cart equipped with a bank of electrical outlets to power outdoor
equipment used in the field. It is currently on loan with Niagara
Falls State Park.
We are also analyzing data on product performance,
emission reductions and fuel savings as we look to expand the
program to benefit more of New York’s state parks and other green
retreats.
Roosevelt Island’s Distinctive Red Buses Go Green
On Roosevelt Island, brand new red hybrid-electric
transit buses are transporting passengers to various public
transportation hubs, including to the island’s signature trams to
Manhattan, in a cleaner and more cost-effective way.
We worked with the Roosevelt Island Operating
Corporation (RIOC) and the New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority to secure funding totaling $2.2 million to
help purchase the buses which replace traditional buses in the
Roosevelt Island fleet. We also served as technical advisors on the
project, traveling with RIOC personnel to the Orion Bus Industries
and BAE Systems plants, where the buses are manufactured in Oriskany
and Johnson City , N.Y., to perform inspections and discuss
specifications.
The buses have an electric-drive system which
includes a battery pack and an electric motor. The mechanical energy
from braking is converted back into electrical energy and supplies
additional power to accelerate and climb hills. The hybrid
technology, combined with a diesel particulate filter and the use of
ultra-low-sulfur fuel, have reduced the emissions of particulate
matter by 90 percent, nitrogen oxides by 40 percent and greenhouse
gases by 30 percent. Fuel consumption for the hybrid buses is 25 to
35 percent less than for a standard diesel bus.
The program builds on
a project we initiated with the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority in the early 1990s which has been instrumental in
placing hundreds of hybrid- electric transit buses in New York City
and was a catalyst in launching the commercial hybrid transit bus
industry.
At a Feb. 14, 2006, press conference to announce
the arrival of the RIOC buses, NYPA’s President and CEO Tim Carey
said the buses are helping to achieve Governor Pataki’s vision of
ending reliance on foreign oil by creating a “transportation sector
transformed by electric-drive, bio-fueled and clean-fueled vehicle
technologies.”
Clean Commute Program Gone But Not Forgotten
NYPA’s Clean Commute Program, which we wrote about in our
inaugural issue of the
Clean Transportation Update, officially ended in 2005 when the
last leases on the Ford Motor Co.’s Think! city electric cars were
turned in.
Though officially over, fond memories linger for
many of the nearly 100 participants who agreed to try out this new
and cleaner way to commute to work. One participant, Kenneth
Bandler, recently wrote about his experiences as a “transportation
pioneer” in a New York Times op-ed, published March 19, 2006,
entitled “The Suburbs, Unplugged.”
Bandler writes vividly about the trials and
triumphs of the electric car commute, including his experiences
learning to gauge the car’s battery capacity to avoid getting towed,
as well as his pride in talking about the car to curious neighbors
and on-lookers. According to Bandler, the car was “perfect for
driving from home to the train station, the supermarket, the cinema,
my daughter’s school and other local destinations without using any
gas or emitting any pollutants.”
For a full text of Bandler’s article, visit the
archives at
nytimes.com.
We’re currently at work on a number of other
exciting electric transportation projects, which we can’t wait to
tell you about. Stay tuned for our next update. |