City of Sturgeon Bay adds an Earth friendly ride to its local fleet (6/17/08)

Sturgeon Bay is joining the effort to “lead by example” in the area of green vehicle technology, adding a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) to their municipal services fleet.

NEVs are compact vehicles designed to be used in residential areas with low density traffic and low speed zones. With a top speed of 25 mph, low-speed vehicles can be used on streets with a posted 35 mph speed limit or less. The city of Sturgeon Bay will soon be adopting an ordinance to make NEVs legal to drive on Sturgeon Bay streets.

The NEV is used for daily transportation of the Parks and Recreation cleaning crew. The vehicle is working so well that the Parks system is considering purchasing another NEV. The second vehicle would be used for garbage pick up in the parks and along the waterfront.

Parks and Recreation Superintendent Bob Bordeau stated, “At first some of the employees were skeptical of the NEV, but after they used the vehicle I have heard nothing but positives.”

The green vehicles are powered by rechargeable batteries and electric motors. Depending on the size and options, a NEV could cost between $7,800 and $10,500. A full battery charge will take from eight to 10 hours.

Sturgeon Bay was able to purchase the NEV with an incentive from its regional power supply company, Wisconsin Public Power Inc. (WPPI). Several other member utilities are taking advantage of incentives offered by WPPI to purchase hybrid vehicles, convert hybrids into plug-in vehicles or add NEVs to their local fleets. Nine member utilities received such incentives in 2007, with three purchasing hybrids and six purchasing battery-powered NEVs for their utility fleets.

The new vehicles serve to educate the public about fuel efficiency and the opportunity to reduce harmful emissions. Many more members have expressed interest in receiving WPPI incentives in 2008 and most have joined the Plug-In Partners campaign along with WPPI.

For more information, please contact Sturgeon Bay Utilities at 746-2820.

Sturgeon Bay Utilities is a member of Wisconsin Public Power Inc., a regional power company serving 49 customer-owned electric utilities. Through WPPI, these public power utilities share resources and own generation facilities to provide reliable, affordable electricity to more than 190,000 homes and businesses in Wisconsin, Upper Michigan and Iowa.