The Air Force is working on developing the first all-electric general purpose vehicle fleet on a federal installation at Los Angeles AFB.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Energy Kevin Geiss told reporters yesterday at an event co-sponsored by IHS The Energy Daily, IHS Clean Energy Direct, IHS Jane’s and GEVO the project is only for general purpose vehicles, which he classified as small sedans and light duty trucks. Geiss said the Air Force is pursuing the project as a way to reduce its fuel consumption because it is under federal mandates to reduce ground vehicle fuel consumption and move to alternative fuels.
“We have to move that way,” Geiss said. “This is an approach that will help us not only meet that goal, in a way that doesn’t cost us any more than a traditional petroleum vehicle, but (will) also bring additional value.”
Geiss said he expects to have infrastructure in place and vehicles “on the ground and moving forward” by the end of 2012.
Geiss said another goal of the program is to change the way people think about vehicle utility. Geiss said in addition to thinking of vehicles as mobility platforms, people should think about of vehicles as power storage devices which can provide “frequency regulation services” or local power backup. This will the service benefit financially, he added.
“What that does is help you cover that incremental premium in cost to get that electric vehicle,” Geiss said. “Because as we all know, they’re more expensive than traditional petroleum vehicles.”
Geiss said the Air Force is working with local utilities Southern California Edison, a subsidiary of Edison International [EIX], and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power as well as local electric grid manager California Independent System Operator Corp. (Cal ISO) to help manage the power supply. Geiss said the Air Force also received funding to have Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory help manage the availability of the fleet.
Geiss said he doesn’t know who will manufacture the vehicles for the program because the service hasn’t issued the request for proposals (RFP), but he said there are a “couple different avenues we’re working on.” Geiss also said the Air Force is working with a couple different organizations that might donate cars for a demonstration period, which would include different types of vehicles.
Geiss said if the Los Angeles AFB project is successful, the Air Force, in tandem with the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the “other services” will move into the medium and heavy duty vehicle segment. Geiss said this will bring a focus on the capacity and capability of those vehicles because they have larger batteries and a larger market for ancillary services.