Fleet operators have been awarded a share of £5 million after the Department for Transport (DfT) announced successful bidders for the Clean Vehicle Technology Fund (CVTF).
Seventeen local authorities will receive grants for a wide variety of pollution-reducing technologies which will now be fitted to 1,080 vehicles.The lion’s share of the cash was received by bus operators in the public sector, but Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Portsmouth City Council received funding for initiatives involving their car and van fleets.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service has been given £166,000 to pay for solar panels to be fitted to its fleet of rapid response vehicles.
The Škoda Octavia estates are strategically positioned across the Yorkshire Ambulance Service region, which covers around six million square miles, to ensure they can be deployed as quickly as possible. However, vehicles can sit for up to 65% of a shift waiting for a call-out, while still having to operate a wide range of electronic equipment.
A secondary battery is used to power technology such as sat-navs and radios, but that means drivers are forced to leave their vehicles idling to keep the battery charged, increasing fuel costs and producing harmful pollutants.
Alexis Keech (pictured), environmental and sustainability manager at Yorkshire Ambulance Service, told Fleet News: “Diesel fumes are carcinogenic so it’s vitally important we try and combat our impact on the environment.
“The solar panels will be used to keep the secondary battery charged and prevent vehicle downtime by ensuring that there is a constant battery charge. This will help us dramatically reduce the particulate and NOx emissions in our air quality management areas.”
The funding will allow Yorkshire Ambulance Service to fit solar panels to 175 of its 204 rapid response vehicles, out of a total fleet of 1,450 vehicles. But Keech hopes that when the scheme starts to be rolled out in November all 204 vehicles can be accommodated.
The initiative builds on the experience of South Central Ambulance Service, which began fitting solar panels to its fleet of emergency vehicles in 2012 (Fleet News, November 8, 2012).
It aims to have installed solar panels across its entire fleet of 120 response cars and 200 ambulances by 2017, cutting its annual fuel bill by around £400,000.
Meanwhile, Portsmouth City Council has been awarded £125,481 to retro-fit Ashwoods’ hybrid technology to 18 Ford Transits.
The hybrid technology charges during braking and then assists the engine during acceleration, reducing emissions.
Mike Vickers, fleet manager at Portsmouth City Council, said: “We’re delighted to have been successful in this bid.
“Having had two vehicles already equipped with hybrid units, coupled to Ashwoods’ Lightfoot monitoring system, we’ve seen a 20% improvement in fuel economy, plus a better driving experience in our densely-urbanised area.
“In a city like Portsmouth, air quality is also an important issue, and this technology will help reduce NOx emissions.”
The council hopes to have all vehicles fitted with the technology in three months.
Transport Minister Baroness Kramer said: “We received imaginative applications from local authorities from across England for vehicles including buses, taxis, vans, fire engines and ambulances. All the schemes will lower emissions in busy towns and cities.”
The CVTF funding builds on the success of last year’s Clean Bus Technology Fund pilot which awarded £7.3m across 26 local authorities to fund the modification of more than 500 buses.
However, this is the first time that funding has been made available for a wider range of public service vehicles.
As part of the requirements of the CVTF, successful projects have to monitor the effectiveness of the technologies and provide a useful learning tool to other local authorities considering green vehicle upgrades.
As a result, the DfT also announced the allocation of an additional £50,000 of funding to help local authorities monitor the results of their clean technology projects.
Geejee - 25/09/2014 22:24
Seems we are always talking about alternative (and therefore expensive to develop technologies), and still churning out diesels by the million whilst spouting about how low the CO2 is on them. Only really about air quality: so how about eliminating particulates and NOx by converting the diesels into petrol: if it can be done? All the time we spend blathering about ideas that have, and will not have an infrastructure for years to come, when the problem can be eased immediately by starting to remove the offenders from the roads. Or is it me?