By Ann Roosevelt
FORT MYER, Va.–Army Secretary Pete Geren Monday handed over the keys to the first six Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV) being leased from Chrysler‘s Global Electric Mororcars (GEM) as part of its energy security initiative.
The ceremony featuring the white NEVs with “Army Green, Army Strong” on the doors was another step toward bringing energy efficiency to the Army, Geren said.
The Army is leasing the vehicles through the General Services Administration (GSA), and is its largest customer. The NEV’s are street legal and bear government license plates 001EV through 006EV. The vehicles were presented and accepted here at Conmy Hall. They will be used for passenger transport, security, maintenance and delivery services.
“It’s the largest acquisition for the military and the largest acquisition of electric vehicles in the entire country,” Geren said.
Barney Brasseaux, General Services Administration deputy administrator, said “these vehicles produce zero emissions” thus reducing the carbon footprint. The NEVs are just one of the efforts GSA is under taking as it works to promote environmentally friendly buildings, practices and supplies.
Paul Bollinger, deputy assistant Secretary for Energy and Partnerships and Senior Energy Executive for the Army, said: The Army will continue to leverage new and emerging technologies to ease its dependence on fossil fuels.
The new NEVs will also help meet the federal requirement to reduce total petroleum usage 2 percent annually through 2015.
The Army’s initial lease will cost less than gasoline powered vehicles that is about $3,300 per sedan and less than hybrid vehicles, some $13,000 per sedan. An incremental cost, estimated at about $800,000, will accrue for the installation of electric plug-in stations, which would be offset by an approximately 11.5 million gallons of fuel reduction over six years, or emitting 115,000 fewer tons of CO2, he said.
GSA Jan. 12 released a market survey to find more NEV producers for an upcoming opportunity to provide close to 800 NEVs this year, 1,600 more in 2010 and another 1,600 in 2011. Responses are due to primary point of contact, Joseph Michael Flanigan, 703-605-2699, or [email protected].
GSA manages the government vehicle fleet, including some 68,000 non-tactical vehicles for the Army. About 28,000 of the fleet are sedans or light trucks could be candidates for electric vehicle replacement.
When the Army completes its acquisition, some 10,000 NEVs are expected to populate 40 Army installations.
Bill Toth, director of GSA’s Office of Motor Vehicle Management, said GSA is “finalizing options for the final cost of the lease.”
The NEVs are only part of the Army’s energy security initiatives, Geren said.
Among the pilot projects are to develop a 500-megawatt solar thermal energy plant at Ft. Irwin to meet all of the installation’s energy needs and export what it doesn’t need. In mid-December the Army Corps of Engineers issued a notice of intent to lease for its production, he said.
At the Hawthorne, Nev., Army Depot, working with the Navy, the service is drilling a second test well. If all goes as planned, a 340-megawatt geothermal power plant will be built to meet all its power requirements, and more which it can sell to the local grid.
The service is also working with the Defense Logistics Agency to demonstrate six biomass waste-to-fuel technology demonstrations at different Army bases, Geren said.