Bedford Borough Council has ordered 24 electric vehicles to reduce its carbon emissions as it strives to be carbon neutral by 2030.
A report due to be presented to the council’s Climate Change Committee next week (Monday, 14 November) says council vehicles generate 2,263 tonnes of carbon emissions.
This is nearly a third of the council’s total carbon emissions, second only to operational council buildings (4,636 tonnes – 66% of total carbon emissions).
To meet its commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030, the report says the council needs to look at the number of vehicles in its fleet and the fuels used to power them.
The council has 250 vehicles and includes car-derived vans, refuse collection vehicles, 32-tonne hook load vehicles, as well as many smaller pieces of equipment, such as triple mowers and ride-on street sweepers.
But only four vehicles are Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) – two scooters and two small vans.
CLS Energy, a specialist energy and fleet transport consultancy service, was commissioned to review the fleet and to establish the most appropriate route to carbon zero.
The key findings included installing as many electric vehicle charging points as the council’s three principal operational depots can handle and instigating a BEV fleet rollout for vehicles smaller than 3.5 tonnes.
As part of this rollout, the report said the council has ordered 24 BEVs. This will mean that 12.5 per cent of the fleet will be a BEV before the end of the current financial year.
The report references a recent survey that found that the average electrification for local authorities in the UK is only 4.2 per cent, adding that the “majority” of those that responded had fewer than 50 charge points in place across public, home, and depot locations.
The council says it has over 100 charging points, with more set to be installed this financial year.
by John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
