General Services Administration
In September, 2004, the Denver Federal Center (DFC), Service Center replaced 10 regular automobiles with Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs). The DFC is a unique property because of its inner campus layout. The one square mile campus layout creates an environmental advantage, allowing for the use of electric vehicles instead of automobiles.
These 4-wheeled vehicles are larger than golf carts but smaller than passenger cars. The NEVs have a top speed of 25 miles per hour and are equipped with headlamps, turn signals, seat belts, brake lights, and so on. Not only are these vehicles environmentally friendly, they are cost efficient in terms of initial capital costs, fuel costs, and overall operating expenses. NEVs reduce petroleum use and simplify fueling requirements by eliminating the need for a gasoline infrastructure. The overall operating cost is 50% that of an automobile.
This action helped us accomplish two goals; to become a sustainable campus and to comply with Executive Order 13149 (Greening the Government Through Federal Fleet and Transportation Efficiency); which requires a 20% decrease in annual petroleum use by fiscal year 2005.
Assuming 10,000 miles use for each vehicle, pollution reduction is shown in the amounts below.
Total yearly reduction = 6,840 lbs of hydrocarbons
Total yearly reduction = 50,560 lbs of carbon monoxide
Total yearly reduction = 3,540 lbs of nitrogen oxide
The purchase has a simple payback of 3.3 years. Assuming a lease fee of $245.00 a month, for 10 vehicles, the annual cost to lease the ten vehicles would be $29,400. The cost to purchase the ten NEVs is $100,000.
It is simple to turn in a leased vehicle and purchase an NEV. This process should work in any campus style environment. The potential impact should be significant. After one year of demonstrating its feasibility, we plan to take our success story to the other agencies, which have nearly 7,000 employees on the DFC, and encourage them to join us. This initiative meet the spirit of GSA’s Asset Management Principles by making sound asset management decisions, maximizing portfolio performance by reducing costs, and promoting a sustainable environment.
This entry was an Honorable Mention Best Practice in the 2005 GSA Achievement Award for Real Property Innovation program.
For more information contact, contact Mr. Charlie Rienhardt at 303-236-8000 (ext. 5325) or by email at charles.rienhardt@gsa.gov.
