City set to trial £400k electric refuse wagon
A £400,000 electric bin wagon could be introduced to Sunderland City Council’s fleet under new plans being considered by city leaders.
The pilot scheme is linked to the council’s City Plan objectives for a “cleaner, low carbon emission city” and is part of wider plans to replace the council’s diesel-powered vehicles with eco-friendly alternatives.
According to cabinet papers, a 12-month trial will evaluate the costs of operation and maintenance for the electric heavy goods vehicle. A cabinet report reads: “The economic and environmental case for moving from diesel to low carbone mission vehicles presents less of a risk to the council as the acquisition and operating costs are relatively modest and there is an established market for these vehicles
“This is not the case when comparing large (heavy) goods vehicles such as 26 tonne, refuse collection vehicles. The technology deployed for powering low carbon emission electric refuse collection vehicles appears to be working well.
“Unfortunately, there is lack of market supply due to limited operational performance data.
“This means there are limited numbers of vehicles available for medium-term reliability trials in local authority applications, upon which to base purchasing decisions.
“This is restricting confidence by local authority fleet managers in making acquisition decisions.”
The council has already procured a small fleet of Nissan NV200 electric light commercial vehicles over the last two years.
In 2021, a further 30 medium-sized commercial lowcarbon electric vehicles will be funded from the council’s existing capital programme to support the transition to a low carbon fleet.
The £400,000 cost of the new electric bin wagon will be met through a combination of allocated capital funding and funding from the European Regional Development Fund.
To mitigate against the financial cost of the vehicle during the trial, suppliers will be required to provide a five year parts and labour warranty on all parts, including the electric battery and motors.
Once the vehicle is selected and ordered, the pilot project is expected to start in spring 2021.
The scheme will be discussed by cabinet at a virtual meeting on Tuesday, at 10am, broadcast live on the council’s YouTube channel at https:// youtu.be/WJ1Ucn55DpQ.