A $0.631 million co-funding allocation will see 20 electric vehicles transform the Bay of Plenty District Health Board car fleet and slash nearly 88 tonnes of annual carbon emissions.
The State Sector Decarbonisation Fund allocation, administered by EECA, was announced on Friday, and will support the purchase of 20 new electric vehicles and the installation of associated charging infrastructure.
The first tranche of fully electric vehicles will begin arriving in the coming months and the DHB estimates they will reduce carbon emissions by around 87.8 tonnes per annum.
BOPDHB Chief Financial Officer Simon Den Bak has been leading the planning for transitioning to a more sustainable fleet.
'We have been replacing vehicles with hybrids for some time now.
'We are pleased to receive this funding which allows us to start the transition to a battery electric fleet within our existing budget. We see this as both a cost effective and climate resilient move for our organisation.”
The BOPDHB has a goal over the next five years to transition to 90 per cent battery electric vehicles and five per cent hybrid vehicles.
Sustainability manager Vicktoria Blake is thrilled that the fleet transition is beginning to occur, while acknowledging that electric vehicles are not the silver bullet for reducing emissions from travel and transport.
'We still have work to do,” says Vicktoria.
'Engagement in public and active transport modes requires some work, and air travel is still a significant contributor to BOPDHB's carbon footprint, but it is great that we are working on decarbonising our fleet and ensuring we are using it in the most appropriate manner, while continuing to deliver the services our community requires.”
6 comments
Delusional
Posted on 10-05-2022 15:29 | By First Responder
How much dirty Filipino coal do we have to burn, to create electricity to charge these things
What a bunch of Suckers!
Posted on 10-05-2022 16:15 | By TheCameltoeKid
So the Regional Council is buying a heap of EV's. Never mind about the child labour that's being exploited in Chinese owned cobalt mines in the Congo that also destroys the rainforest. Never mind about the fact that each EV has to travel approximately 148000kms to achieve zero emissions or the cost of disposal snd replacement of spent batteries. Never mind the fact that these things are a fire hazard that's resulted in thousands of fires around the world and can be attributed to the recent sinking of the Volkswagen ship in the Norther Atlantic Ocean. These no way I'd charge one in my garage. The Council should be upfront with Ratepayers on the cost to install the infrastructure to charge the things. If these Councils are intent on charging us millions of dollars to install cycleways then why not just give them all pushbikes?
I didn't read the article correctly
Posted on 10-05-2022 20:54 | By TheCameltoeKid
The DHB not the Regional Council. Still, my sentiments remain. We're paying for these things and this zero emissions crap is nothing but hocus pocus! It amazes me that these people can express this rubbish with a straight face.
I cannot believe.....
Posted on 10-05-2022 21:26 | By groutby
.....that the DHB sss-sustainbility manager has too many genuine things to be that impressed about (as other writers have commented), as the emissions are of course increasing in the manufacturing process and the voltage supply to charge them....but...good news !!..it makes then look as though there is something actually happening re. C02 emission reduction which is great!..( for their job retention). There isn't of course and those without free government handouts will be accused of 'non compliance' and penalised as such. Vicktoria says...."while CONTINUING to deliver the services our community requires.”, I'm not sure if you have been totally genuine here either?...this has not happened for many years....has it? Technical and genuine realities need to be realised here, not just idealogically driven hopes and surreal ambitions.......
GOLLY GOSH
Posted on 11-05-2022 03:06 | By old trucker
My gosh .631 million on nice things,AND the AMBULANCE PEOPLE have to shake a tin to get funds,how blinkin silly,my thoughts only,it makes me sick,agree with both above comments,it is a HUGE layout to drive around in when a smaller car could be better,but NO, got to spend millions to feel good,gosh just to charge them at special points is a cost on its own,im out.thanks Sunlive.10-4 out. phew.
EVs.
Posted on 12-05-2022 11:01 | By morepork
Electric Vehicles are the future. (Fossil fuels will run out and are non-renewable; the energy of the electromagnetic field (when captured and stored effectively) is good for at least another 3 billion years...) That future starts now. Whether you believe in climate change and the causes of it, whether you think that batteries are dangerous, whether you mistrust technology generally, the fact remains that our best bet is electricity. Apart from it being "clean", it is also available from numerous sources (wind, sun, hydro, tidal, nuclear.... ) and it won't "run out". Technology advancement will improve battery safety and efficiency, but we have to start somewhere, and the indications are that the sooner we move to EVs the better it will be for all of us. The DHB should not be disparaged for trying to move in the right direction.
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