February 23, 2022 -- Today, Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston City Council announced approval to purchase 97 battery electric vehicles. The new electric vehicles (EVs) will replace internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicles that are aging out of the City of Houston fleet.
The EV purchase is driven by the Houston Climate Action Plan – a strategy that sets out to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve regional air quality, and build climate resilience. The Houston Climate Action Plan aims to convert all non-emergency, light-duty municipal vehicles to electric by 2030. Mayor Turner anticipates bringing additional electric and low-emission vehicle purchases to Council in the near future.
“With today’s purchase approval we more than triple the number of EVs in our municipal fleet!” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “We still have a long way to go to reach our Climate Action Plan target of all non-emergency, light-duty vehicles, but we are determined to continue leading by example.”
The Fleet Management Department, working in coordination with the Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability, is spearheading the City’s EV initiative. The City recently partnered with Evolve Houston and eIQ Mobility to apply state-of-the-art methods in life cycle analysis and optimization modeling to determine financial and environmental impacts of investment decisions in EVs and associated infrastructure. Based on this study, electrifying the municipal fleet will generate significant savings from lower energy and maintenance costs, and estimated savings are expected to grow as the cost difference between ICE vehicles and battery electric vehicles continues to shrink. For example, the purchase price of these battery electric pickups is only 7% ($2,774) greater than a similarly equipped, gasoline pickup.
"Evolve Houston is encouraged to see the City of Houston's commitment to electric vehicles reaffirmed after the results of our fleet study,” said Harry Tenenbaum, Director of Commercialization & Infrastructure at Evolve Houston. “We're excited to continue working with the City to electrify their fleet, reduce carbon emissions, and improve Houston's air quality."
The purchased electric vehicles will be deployed throughout the City organization. City departments adopting electric vehicles from this purchase include:
- Houston Airport System
- Department of Neighborhoods
- Houston Health Department
- Solid Waste Management Department
- Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department
- Houston Police Department
- Houston Fire Department
- Houston Parks and Recreation Department
- Fleet Management Department
- General Services Department
Data collected on the operation of the EVs in the different City applications will be used to optimize additional EV deployments.
“Transitioning to electric and low-emission vehicles will yield both environmental benefits for the community and financial benefits for the City,” said Director of Fleet Management, Gary Glasscock. “Over an 8-year life, each EV is expected to save the City approximately $16,000 in total cost of operation and reduce tailpipe and upstream greenhouse gas emissions by 25 tons compared to a conventional, gasoline powered vehicle.”
This purchase will add to the 40 battery electric vehicles already in the fleet. The City of Houston is actively placing EV charging infrastructure at multiple City facilities to support the delivery of the additional EVs.
Due to global supply chain issues, the EVs approved today are not expected to arrive until early Spring of 2023. Additional EV purchases are expected in the coming months.
Any grant opportunities that come available prior to the delivery of the vehicles will be thoroughly evaluated for potential in offsetting the City funds used to cover the purchase price of the electric vehicles.
About Evolve Houston
Evolve Houston is a coalition of sustainability-minded of civic, business, and academic leaders who seek to accelerate clean transportation through electrification. For more information, visit: https://www.evolvehouston.org/.
About eIQ Mobility
eIQ Mobility is a NextEra Energy Resources company. NextEra Energy Resources is a clean energy leader and is one of the largest wholesale generators of electric power in the U.S., with approximately 21,900 megawatts of net generating capacity, in over 40 states and Canada. For more information visit: https://www.eiqmobility.com/about/who-we-are