The City of Prince George will consider purchasing a 100 per cent electric vehicle in 2012 as part of a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the city's vehicle fleet.
City council signed off on a three-year green fleet strategic plan on Monday.
"Part of our plan is to purchase a 100 per cent electric vehicle," city fleet services manager Terry Hawkes said. "We're trying to understand how these vehicles fit with our fleet - and how they will perform in our climate."
Coun. Cameron Stolz said he is curious to find out if the electric vehicle will be up to Prince George's climate.
"I'm glad to see there is a trial on the electric vehicle - I'm looking forward to finding out how that works at -40 C," Stolz said.
Hawkes said the city will also convert five city vehicles to propane next year to as part of a pilot project. It should take about 14 months for the city to recovery the $5,000 per unit cost of converting the vehicles - and result in a significant greenhouse gas reduction.
Also slated for 2012 is installing onboard computers into 40 city vehicles. The computers monitor the vehicles operations - including idling and fuel-inefficient driving habits, Hawkes explained.
"We hope to reduce fuel consumption by 10 per cent by 2013 [using the computers]," he said. "But with just training alone we expect to make a significant difference."
The city has operated two gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles since 2009, Hawkes said. Other initiatives already underway include monitoring tire pressure on vehicles to ensure vehicles aren't being driven with under-inflated tires.
Supply and fleet services manager Scott Bone said the city spends $1 million per year on fuel for its 400 vehicles.
In a 2009 study, 38 per cent of the City of Prince George's total greenhouse gas emissions were from fleet vehicles. Currently the city holds silver certification from E3 Fleets for efficient fleet operations, Bone said.
"We were one of three municipalities in B.C. to receive silver status," he added.
However, Bone said, there is still room for improvement.
