Frederick County replacing 21% of its fleet with electric vehicles to lower countywide emissions
Frederick News Post February 5, 2024
Editor’s note: A story about Frederick County’s plan to transition its vehicle fleet appeared in the Feb. 3-4 edition of The Frederick News-Post. However, a central point of the plan — what percentage of the fleet would be replaced with fully electric vehicles — was incorrect in the story and a headline. We are publishing a new corrected version today with additional reporting.
Frederick County plans to replace about 21% of its vehicle fleet with electric vehicles, as well as use biodiesel fuel for other parts of the fleet, to help lower the county’s greenhouse gas emissions.
At Mobilize Frederick’s climate summit at Hood College on Friday, County Executive Jessica Fitzwater announced a plan to replace parts of the county fleet with electric vehicles (EVs), as well as a resource document and website for residents and businesses to consult when considering switching to EVs.
Out of 876 on-road vehicles in the county’s fleet that were included in the vehicle transition plan, the county expects to replace 183 with EVs between 2024 and 2036, according to Annmarie Creamer, communications manager with the county’s Division of Energy and Environment.
Currently, the county’s fleet has five hybrid electric vehicles, a fully electric van and nine fully electric buses, according to Logan McSherry, a project manager with the county’s Division of Energy and Environment.
McSherry said the vehicle transition plan is estimated to cost about $1.34 million over three fiscal years. The estimated costs for fiscal years 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively, are $265,500, $585,500 and $487,500.
From fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2026, the $1.34 million will support an estimated purchase of 21 EVs and the associated operating costs, according to an email from McSherry on Monday.
In 2020, the Frederick County Council passed a resolution to reduce countywide greenhouse gas emissions from 2010 levels by 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050.
Transportation contributes to about 48% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Frederick County, according to a news release from the county.
The vehicle transition plan outlines how Frederick County plans to deploy EVs in its operations. It also provides an overview of the county’s current vehicle fleet and suitable EV equivalents.
The plan only evaluates on-road vehicles in the county’s fleet, such as sedans, SUVs, shuttle and transit buses, and pickup trucks. It does not include 283 non-road vehicles that the county has. It also does not include Frederick County Public Schools vehicles.
Vehicle retirement is determined by the county’s fleet manager and is based on vehicle age and mileage, according to the plan.
“The plan looks at, as we engage in that [vehicle retirement] process ... which ones are suitable for transitioning away from fuel ... and what can we move into electrification,” Creamer said. “It’s part of a larger ongoing system that’s already been in place and just introducing some more environmentally friendly methods of making those decisions.”
Sedans and SUVs make up about 42% of the current on-road fleet, according to the plan. Of the 216 sedans and 152 SUVs, 159 sedans and 151 SUVs are police vehicles.
Creamer said the vehicles not recommended for electrification include police vehicles, as well as heavy-duty vehicles like snowplows or dump trucks.
The vehicles that the plan recommended to be replaced with EVs include 31 vans, 22 minivans, 61 medium-duty vocational trucks, 21 shuttle buses and 19 sedans, according to McSherry.
For vehicles without an adequate fully electric alternative, McSherry said, the county will look at incorporating biodiesel fuel or using hybrid electric transportation.
Of the 876 vehicles assessed in the plan, 116 are recommended for biodiesel fuel. This fuel would be about 20% biodiesel and 80% regular fuel, according to McSherry.
Transitioning those vehicles to biodiesel would annually save an estimated $116,247 in fuel costs, according to the plan.
As EV technology continues to evolve, some vehicles without suitable replacements now could have possible alternatives in the future.
The vehicle transition plan also shows total potential emission savings for 2030, 2040 and 2050 if the county adopts all of the plan’s recommendations.
By 2030, the county can potentially save almost 8,900 metric tons of emissions. Those savings could increase to about 24,000 metric tons of emissions by 2040 and about 29,000 metric tons by 2050.
McSherry said the county is looking for funding sources for EVs and EV chargers. There are 120 EV charging ports currently available to the public in Frederick County, according to the Alternative Fuels Data Center.
Fitzwater also announced the Community-wide Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan on Friday. The document contains information about the costs, benefits and challenges to adopting EVs, current EV conditions in Frederick County, funding opportunities, and other resources for residents and businesses.
On the Division of Energy and Environment’s online page for the readiness plan, there are links with answers to common questions about EVs and incentives for purchasing EVs and charging equipment.
Individuals and businesses can earn federal income tax credits for new and used EVs, as well as state income tax credits for new EVs. People may also be eligible for a rebate from the Maryland Energy Administration for purchasing and installing EV chargers.
The readiness plan also contains a section on EV adoption and accessibility in underserved and low-income communities, which may face more transportation barriers.
The plan says the county should talk to people in underserved communities to better understand their transportation needs. It also listed multiple potential barriers to adopting EVs and chargers, such as living and working in areas without parking, not having a credit card to pay for charging, and experiencing educational and language barriers.
The county has a survey on the Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan page to gather feedback on factors people consider when thinking about purchasing an EV and opinions on where EV charging infrastructure should be built. Individuals can access the survey at tinyurl.com/2dbkpbna.
Source: https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/environment/pollution/updated-frederick-county-replacing-21-of-its-fleet-with-electric-vehicles-to-lower-countywide-emissions/article_390097cb-8bc2-5cff-9b4a-74925887f58d.html
