There’s information as we speak from the US Postal Service about electrifying its fleet of automobiles. In a press launch, USPS says it has awarded contracts to Ford to buy 9,250 left-hand-drive common manufacturing E-Transit electrical vans in addition to 14,000 EV charging stations to assist their use. These awards are per the car electrification technique introduced by USPS in December of 2022, accompanied by senior White Home officers.
Total, the Postal Service’s whole funding in automobiles is anticipated to succeed in $9.6 billion, together with $3 billion from Inflation Discount Act funds. The December 2022 plan referred to as for acquisitions over the subsequent 5 years to make the 75 Subsequent Era Supply Automobiles fleet 75% electrical by 2025. Acquisitions of recent supply automobiles for the postal service after 2026 can be 100% electrical.
As a part of the earliest levels of the supply car alternative plan, a contract for 9,250 commercial-off-the-shelf inner combustion engine automobiles can even be concurrently awarded to fill the pressing want for automobiles. The precise areas for deployment of the automobiles and infrastructure haven’t but been finalized and can depend upon route traits, together with whether or not a left-hand-drive car is mission-suitable in addition to different enterprise concerns. The Postal Service plans to start constructing out its charging infrastructure throughout a minimal of 75 areas inside the subsequent 12 months, and thereafter to proceed the infrastructure buildout within the succeeding years at many further services as part of its supply car electrification technique.
“We’re shifting ahead with our plans to concurrently enhance our service, scale back our price, develop our income, and enhance the working atmosphere for our staff. Electrification of our car fleet is now an vital element of those initiatives,” mentioned Louis DeJoy, Postmaster Normal. “Now we have developed a technique that mitigates each price and danger of deployment — which allow execution on this initiative to start now. I once more need to thank the Administration officers and members of Congress who’ve assisted us on this initiative. Every has proven real understanding that our motion towards electrification should be considerate and deliberate, should appropriately handle danger, and should be per our main supply mission for the American individuals.”
After a aggressive search, the Postal Service awarded a contract to buy a complete of 9,250 Ford E-Transit battery electrical automobiles. Supply of the automobiles is meant to begin in December of this yr, assuming profitable completion of the Supplemental Environmental Impression Assertion that it introduced it could undertake in August 2022, and the associated issuance of its File of Resolution pursuant to the Nationwide Environmental Coverage Act. These domestically sourced automobiles can be 100% electrical and are a part of the 21,000 COTS automobiles included within the Postal Service’s car acquisition plan introduced in December 2022. The Ford E-Transit BEVs are manufactured in Kansas Metropolis, Missouri.
14,000 EV Chargers Included
To assist the charging for all of the newly bought electrical automobiles, each the COTS automobiles introduced as we speak and future acquisitions, the Postal Service awarded aggressive contracts to 3 suppliers for the acquisition of greater than 14,000 charging stations to determine an preliminary and ongoing EVSE (electrical car provide tools) stock. This EVSE stock is the charging station {hardware} and software program wanted to assist EV charging on the services from which the supply automobiles will function.
Contracts totaling $260 million for the charging stations went to Blink Charging Co., Siemens Business Inc., and Rexel USA Power Options, the Postal Service mentioned. Charging stations can be put in at a number of Postal Service services, together with sorting and supply facilities, beginning within the third quarter of this yr.
“The Postal Service has been steadfastly dedicated to the fiscally accountable and mission succesful roll-out of electrical powered automobiles for America’s largest and oldest federal fleet. The company has regularly assessed its operational and infrastructure build-out capability, monetary place together with IRA funds, and car combine deployment over the previous 12 months. The Postal Service anticipates that this dedication of funds by 2028 for each automobiles and charging infrastructure will lead to a complete of 66,230 electrical supply automobiles and an general acquisition of 106,000 supply automobiles. All awards in as we speak’s announcement are contingent on the Postal Service’s passable completion of Nationwide Environmental Coverage Act necessities.”
In a separate press launch, Ford CEO Jim Farley mentioned, “Ford is proud to assist america Postal Service in delivering a extra sustainable future for America by electrifying their fleet with over 9,200 E-Transit vans by way of the top of 2024. Constructed by our devoted UAW workforce on the Kansas Metropolis Meeting Plant, automobiles can be operated by the biggest electrical fleet within the nation serving communities on each road nook. Along with USPS, we’re committing to cleaner air and a greater planet.”
USPS & Electrical Automobiles
CleanTechnica readers are effectively conscious of the lengthy and tortured path that has preceded this announcement. Final April, our personal Tina Casey puzzled why the Postal Service didn’t simply purchase E-Transit vans from Ford. Seems she was prescient. USPS is now ramping up the variety of electrical automobiles from the paltry 10% initially deliberate to 75% inside 5 years. That’s enormous, though it took quite a lot of politicking and citizen stress to make that occur. It additionally took a lawsuit filed by the Middle for Organic Range, CleanAirNow, Sierra Membership, and 16 states that challenged the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) choice to switch its growing old fleet with near 150,000 gasoline-powered supply vehicles.
The dangerous information is that an equal variety of gasoline-powered vans from Stellantis (Ram) are being added to the fleet, however that’s primarily because of the present automobiles used for day by day mail supply being nearly a decade past their anticipated helpful life. They’re worn in and out want of fixed restore. As well as, they get about 8 miles to the gallon. The upshot is they’re costing the Postal Service an enormous amount of cash and are in pressing want of alternative. Whereas shopping for new gas-powered vans is way from supreme, the upper gas financial system and decrease upkeep prices will not less than assist scale back the price of working the present fleet of automobiles.
The Ford E-Transit is successful with fleet operators seeking to save on gas and upkeep price. Penske has ordered 750 of them for its fleet of economic automobiles. They are going to be accessible first to leasing and rental clients in Southern California, with different US areas being phased in over the subsequent 12 months.
The Takeaway
The choice to go together with electrical automobiles for the USPS ought to have been a no brainer from the beginning, and had it not been for a devoted stooge appointed by a disgraced former president, issues in all probability would have been performed otherwise. The E-Transit just isn’t purpose-built for postal service duties, however it’s accessible and dependable. And it’ll give USPS — and different fleet managers — a chance to judge and assess the electrical automobiles from Ford alongside an equal variety of standard vans.
We, in fact, hope the electrical vans outshine the opposite vans in each class, however we should anticipate that comparability to play out. Within the closing evaluation, three or 4 years from now, USPS will understand it ought to have simply gone electrical from the very starting.
I do not like paywalls. You do not like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Right here at CleanTechnica, we carried out a restricted paywall for some time, nevertheless it at all times felt unsuitable — and it was at all times robust to determine what we should always put behind there. In principle, your most unique and greatest content material goes behind a paywall. However then fewer individuals learn it! We simply do not like paywalls, and so we have determined to ditch ours.
Sadly, the media enterprise remains to be a troublesome, cut-throat enterprise with tiny margins. It is a endless Olympic problem to remain above water and even maybe — gasp — develop. So …
