Exeter City Council to operate new electric refuse vehicles

Exeter City Council will be taking delivery of three new electric refuse vehicles, which will ultimately be powered by renewable energy sources, to help the city achieve its target to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Following a successful trial last year three Dennis Eagle eCollect 26t electric Refuse Collection The new electric trucks are being funded via contract hire, thanks to the council’s vehicle partner Specialist Fleet Services (SFS), as part of a 7-year fleet agreement, which commenced in 2019. 

The fleet will eventually be powered by the Water Lane Solar Park, which is currently being built by the council and is scheduled for completion this summer. The park will comprise 3,700 solar panels to create 1.2MW of clean green energy.

Cllr David Harvey, Exeter City Council’s lead councillor for city management, said: “The introduction of three brand new electric refuse collection vehicles into our fleet is fantastic news for Exeter and its residents.

“The vehicles are clean and quiet and are a vital step on our journey towards a carbon neutral City.

“When it is complete the new solar array at Water Lane will supply power to the vehicles further reducing the carbon impact.

“Over 20% of the City Council’s vehicles are now electrically powered and this is the vital next step on delivering a 100% carbon neutral fleet.”

Bob Sweetland, managing director of SFS, added: “We are proud to be the first contract hire company to install a fleet of eCollect refuse vehicles in the UK.

“This is an important step in the decarbonisation of Exeter’s fleet, and we are confident that the new vehicles will be well received by crews and residents.”

SFS was established nearly 30 years ago and has a track record in delivering fleet and workshop management solutions to local authorities across the UK.

The company runs a network of workshops across the UK as well as operating its own specialist vehicle hire division, CTS Hire.