Town Lowers Energy Consumption with Hybrid Vehicle Replacements

The Town of Collingwood is deploying four recently purchased plug-in hybrid vehicles as part of its efforts to lower energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas production.

The purchase was made possible through the town’s current fleet vehicle replacement policy. The policy requires analysis of life-cycle fuel cost for light vehicles and includes incentives for hybrids. It ensures that consideration is given to more fuel-efficient vehicles and encourages hybrid vehicles where possible.

The vehicles purchased are plug-in hybrids that have a range of approximately 40 km on one charge. They can be charged from a regular 120 volt receptacle or by Level 2 or Level 3 electrical vehicle charging stations. When required, the gasoline engine will operate to charge the battery, propel the vehicle, or both at the same time. They also utilize regenerative braking to capture the kinetic energy of the vehicle and further charge the battery.

The vehicles will be utilized in the Public Works, Water, By-Law, and Building Departments. It is anticipated that they will operate on the electrical motor for most of their service life as the daily mileage will rarely exceed the 40 km range.

The greening of the Town’s corporate fleet also includes two new electric ice resurfacing vehicles for rink maintenance and two bicycles for By-Law road patrols.

The Town of Collingwood is recognizing many internal corporate efforts toward environmental sustainability and is taking action on new Greener Collingwood corporate initiatives like recycling, composting, and reducing single use plastics.

“As the Town of Collingwood moves forward with green corporate initiatives, I encourage the businesses of the region to also look for ways to implement new green practices, and reduce energy consumption and waste,” said Mayor Brian Saunderson, “We all have a role to play in the environmental stewardship of our beautiful community.”

Stay tuned to www.collingwood.ca for announcements on Greener Collingwood initiatives.