Fort Leavenworth
Saving Energy and Money with Electric Cars
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas is getting green and saving money with energy efficient ingenuity. Eight neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) have been added to the growing fleet of efficient government transportation, bringing the garrison’s total to 13. The original five vehicles, purchased from Global Electric Motorcars (GEM) for about $10,000 each, run solely on gel cell batteries. The vehicles plug into an outlet to recharge. The batteries stay charged for around eight hours and the NEVs reach speeds up to 35 miles per hour—the speed limit for the installation. The purpose of the vehicles is short distance commuting for meetings and daily government tasks. Compared to gasoline-dependent vehicles, the GEMs are virtually maintenance free and inexpensive to run.
- Mission The NEVs will help Fort Leavenworth meet the federal energy mandates as well as save costs that can be redirected to support mission readiness.
- Community Reducing air pollution and saving energy will benefit the surrounding community.
- Environment Reducing electrical demand will reduce our need for coal power and thus reduce our carbon footprint.
"A GSA [General Services Administrative] sedan costs $233 a month and 19 cents a mile, which is $36,348 for a year's lease for 13 vehicles plus mileage and fuel," said Debbie Palmer, chief of the Business Operations and Integration Management Division. "We own these [electric] vehicles and have no lease, mileage or fuel costs other than the minimal amount it costs to charge the vehicles." Looking toward the future, officials have now purchased solar recharging pods so that the vehicles can be recharged using solar power instead of electrical outlets. According to an average calculation the Environmental Office performed using GEM's web site, the cost to run a gas powered vehicle 20 miles a day at $2 a gallon is around $742 a year. The cost to run a NEV is less than $40 a year for the same mileage. "Any way that we can save funds in one area to help support the Army mission is a good business practice," Palmer said. "We also have more vehicles available to our work force so they do not use their POVs [personally owned vehicles] to conduct government business."
Fort Leavenworth Public Affairs: 913-684-1723
Find DoD NEV Resources, Reports and Related Links at the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Installations and Environment website.
Find NEV Fact sheets, reports, and other vehicle information at the Idaho National Laboratory website.