OK, it is time to get very excited about an electric bin lorry. No, seriously. businessgreen.com/bg/news/306214…
This project from @VeoliaUK and @innovateuk sounds quite simply amazing. businessgreen.com/bg/news/306214…
It's not just an electric bin lorry with all the air quality, carbon, and noise benefits that offers (imagine the early morning bim men being quieter while you are trying to have a lie in), it's retrofitted from an existing diesel lorry.
That extends the life of the existing lorry maximising resource and capital efficiency, while also eradicating one of the main running costs for bin collections in the form of diesel. That = lower council taxes.
And look at the technical specs. These lorries are 26 tonnes, but they are still confident the converted models will do a 10 hour shift without recharging and cope with 25% gradients when fully loaded.
Plus, you know what a bin collection route is, so you can be confident it can do the trip in one charge and then you charge overnight from the local energy-from-waste facility when demand on the grid is low.
The two year trial is going to be fascinating, but if it works there are good reasons to think this could be scaleable and cost effective in a way that benefits everyone.
Oh, and it comes on the same day @LondonEVCompany reminds cabbies its plug-in cabs can save drivers around £400 a month in fuel costs and slash urban air pollution businessgreen.com/bg/news/306212…
In short, electrification of our fleets, especially our big fleets that have disproportionate environmental and health impacts, could easily end up happening far faster than people realise. Like I say, it is a very exciting bin lorry.
