Navy to add 345 electric vehicles (Jacksonville)

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based engineering arm of the U.S. Navy plans to cut transportation costs by renting about 345 slow moving, electric vehicles by 2015, bringing its fleet to 750 such vehicles.

The purchase of more SMVs. including some that are solar-powered, is part of the Naval Facilities Command’s effort to reduce its petroleum usage by half by 2015. The overall command plans to add more than 2,500 electric vehicles to the Navy’s fleet within that time period.

NAVFAC Southeast command, which is headquartered in Jacksonville, has 314 electric vehicles ranging from sedans to cargo vans. Twenty-three of the vehicles are solar-powered and the majority of the local command’s 121 new solar-powered vehicles are headed to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay.

The Navy chose the electric vehicles because they can perform the necessary jobs for less money, with their environmental benefits coming second. The rental of an electric sedan or pickup is 44 percent cheaper than that of a traditional gas-powered vehicle.

For every 35 vehicles converted to SMV, customers would realize a savings of $100,000 annually,” said Jesse Evans, NAVFAC Southeast transportation specialist, in a news release. “Based on a typical half-ton pickup driving 15,000 miles annually, there would be a savings of over $1,200 in fuel costs each year.”

Read more in the Jacksonville Business Journal.