Oxford County is shifting towards cleaner burning Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and electric power in its fleet in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The new technology is being introduced into some of the County’s fleet that will help achieve a projected 6.2% reduction in CO2 emissions this year.
Light truck conversions
CNG is the cleanest burning transportation fuel on the market today, producing 20-30% fewer greenhouse gas emissions and 95% fewer tailpipe emissions than petroleum products. Three of the County’s light trucks have been converted to hybrid Gasoline/Compressed Natural Gas with another 15 to be converted before the end of the year.
Dedicated CNG snow plows
In researching the potential for a fully Compressed Natural Gas vehicle, it was determined a tandem snow plow would be the best application. Later this year, Oxford County will become the first municipality in Ontario to have a CNG snow plow that will be clearing County roads next winter season.
Melissa Abercrombie, Manager of Roads and Facilities, Oxford County Public Works commented: “Oxford County is putting the pedal down on a number of exciting initiatives this year when it comes to green vehicle technology. So far, the reviews have been excellent on our Compressed Natural Gas light truck conversions. Staff are not noticing any difference in the performance of the vehicles when running on natural gas. We’re also really excited about becoming the first municipality to have snow plows running on Compressed Natural Gas later this year.”
Other (non-NGV) measures include anti-idling ambulances and two electrc vehicles.
These new fleet enhancements are projected to reduce the County’s CO2 emissions by to 1,706 tonnes in 2017 (a 6.2% decrease). That will put the County fleet on track to achieve a 10% reduction by 2019, equivalent to nearly 3000 tree seedlings planted and grown for 10 years.
However, there are still a number of challenges in greening the County’s fleet of 119 vehicles including access to alternative fueling stations, the limited range of electric vehicle batteries and a limited number of ambulance manufacturers in the province.
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(Source: Oxford County)
