Clark County buying more green machines
Looking to lead by example in its continuing effort to improve air quality, Clark County is beefing up its fuel-efficient vehicle fleet.
Grants totaling $620,000 to add 45 fuel-efficient vehicles to the county’s fleet were approved last week: $385,920 for 35 hybrid vehicles and $234,080 for 10 plug-in electric vehicles.
The funds will derive from a pair of grants from the Federal Highway Administration’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. To acquire the grants, the county is contributing a $20,312 grant match for each hybrid and $12,320 grant match per electric.
“We routinely encourage Clark County residents to take an active role in helping lower ozone levels,” said Kevin Macdonald, spokesperson for the Clark County Department of Air Quality, which was started in 2001. “By converting our county fleet to fuel-efficient hybrids, electric vehicles and alternative-fuel vehicles, we are leading by example to lower emissions and promote cleaner air.”
Once the local partnership agreement is executed by both Clark County and the Nevada Department of Transportation, the funds to reimburse the county for the purchase of the vehicles can be released.
The county has 2,386 vehicles in its fleet. Of those, 2,001 vehicles (almost 84 percent) feature some sort of a fuel-efficient option:
• 1,384 operate on biodiesel
• 463 are hybrids (example: Ford Fusion)
• 12 are electric vehicles (example: Chevy Volt)
Clark County has received grant funds to purchase alternative-fuel vehicles from the CMAQ program for the past four years.
“We’re very proud of the fact that we have the largest hybrid fleet in the state of Nevada,” Macdonald said.
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