By Noel Brady

We are continuing down the path to sustainability with our fleet of vehicles and equipment. The fleet recently became a finalist among the 50 most sustainable and efficient government fleets in North America. In fact, our agency was the only state DOT fleet to make the list for the 2014 Leading Fleets.

WSDOT employees charge up a Nissan Leaf at the DC Fast Charge station at Headquarters in Olympia

The awards, sponsored by Ford Motor Company and Property Room, will be presented next month in San Diego. The Leading Fleets program recognizes government fleet operations in North America for leadership, efficiency, long-term planning and overcoming challenges.

We became a finalist for sustainably managing a fleet that runs on a mix of alternative fuels, including electricity, biodiesel and propane. The fleet was evaluated for innovation in reducing fuel consumption and emissions, increasing vehicle efficiency, using sustainable and biodegradable products and recycling. It‘s one of the largest and most diverse to be recognized at the awards.

It’s the latest in a series of honors for our fleet’s transition to alternative fuels, such as electricity and propane. Our agency also recently ranked 12th among the 2014 100 Best Fleets in North America – the agency’s highest ranking on this list in years. The award highlights our commitment to quality fleet services based on specific criteria, including technology and environmental stewardship.

In recent weeks our Fleet Operations became the first state agency in the country to reach an agreement with Nissan to lease its all-electric, plug-in Leaf cars. The ground-breaking lease agreement paves the way for other state agencies to lease the industry-leading Leaf electronic vehicles.

We are leasing five new Leaf EVs for use at offices from Shoreline to Vancouver. According to WSDOT Fleet Administrator Greg Hansen, two have arrived at Northwest Region headquarters in Shoreline, and one new Leaf each is available at Headquarters in Olympia, Olympic Region in Tumwater and Southwest Region in Vancouver. Charging stations are being installed at each location.

Our land and water fleets also passed a million-gallon milestone for biodiesel in 2013. It was the first year our agency purchased more than 1 million gallons of emissions-cutting biodiesel to fuel ferries, trucks and equipment.

By Noel Brady

Gov. Jay Inslee presents Steve Marsh with the Governor’s Recognition Award, naming him Washingtonian of the Day.

Our charge to short-circuit the range barrier for electric vehicles passed milestone 100,000 on Dec. 16, when a Kent man stopped in Tumwater on the West Coast Electric Highway.

The fast-charge station at a Shell station in Tumwater is a regular stop for Steve Marsh on his way to work at Taylor Shellfish in Shelton – a 130-mile roundtrip commute. When he pulled up Monday in his Nissan LEAF, his odometer flipped to 100,000 miles.

Suddenly Steve was an EV-VIP, shaking hands with the likes of Gov. Jay Inslee and Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson. They and others congratulated Steve for reaching the six-digit milestone and saving nearly 30 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in the process.

By the Numbers Steve Marsh purchased a Nissan LEAF in May 2011 for his 130-mile roundtrip commute. After 100,000 miles, here are the numbers. 62-65 Marsh’s daily commute in freeway miles each way, depending on route 60+ Freeway miles he can drive on a single charge; 75+ when LEAF was new $1.80-$2 His cost in electricity per one-way commute $11,660 His savings in gas he didn’t purchase over the last 2 1/2 years (based on his previous 2006 Honda Accord EX) $8,700+ Total net saving, counting out changes 29.6 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent Marsh would have released if he kept his 30-mpg Accord (EPA greenhouse gas calculator).

The Governor handed Steve a plaque declaring him the Washingtonian of the Day and vowed his administration’s commitment to reducing use of fossil fuels in Washington. One strategy will be extending our network of electric charging stations west-to-east across the state, he said. 

Already the West Coast Electric Highway enables EV travel between British Columbia and Oregon with a network of 12 fast-charge stations along I-5 and parts of U.S. 2. They can fully charge an electric car in about 30 minutes. We are working with Oregon and California on the West Coast Green Highway to extend the charging network to Baja, Mexico.

Steve said cash was his biggest motivator for being among the first in the state to buy a LEAF – some $9,000 he saved by passing the pump and plugging in on his long commutes.
 
Shortly after he bought his electric car, he suggested his company install a public-use charging station at his office. 

Here’s the shocker: They did!