Alert Bay Commits to Carbon Neutrality With Purchase of Electric Truck
By Village of Alert Bay
ALERT BAY - In 2008 the Village of Alert Bay made a commitment to the pursuit of carbon neutrality by signing the BC Climate Action Charter (the Charter). One of the ways in which the Village has pursued this goal is by purchasing a plug-in electric truck to replace an existing gas powered pick-up truck.
Alert Bay purchased their NZEV, Might-E Truck, from Canadian Electric Vehicles Ltd. of Errington, BC. The custom-built Alert Bay Might-E Truck is a small dump truck with a 1500 lb capacity that meets the Federal Government requirements for a Neighbourhood Zero Emission Vehicle (NZEV). The Might-E Truck is designed to be a low maintenance cost vehicle, but one that outperforms combustion vehicles both financially and mechanically.
At a cost of about $28,000, including all environmental levies, the price compares favourably to a comparable pick-up truck and promises to cost less to operate. The Village has decided to pay for the vehicle through a five-year lease to own agreement, made available by the Municipal Finance Authority.
“The Municipal Finance Authority of BC is pleased to be a part of this initiative by providing low-cost financing to the Village of Alert Bay through our leasing program”, says Shelley Hahn, Director of Business Services. “Congratulations to the Village of Alert Bay for leading the way and showing that communities of all sizes can make a difference.”
Village of Alert Bay Mayor Michael Berry commented on his Council’s commitment to green initiatives, "When it was time to replace one of the public works vehicles, we saw this as an opportunity to take definitive action toward reducing our carbon footprint and moving toward our goal of carbon neutrality by 2015. One of this Council's first actions after taking office last fall was to enact a bylaw allowing electric vehicles within the Village of Alert Bay, so adding an electric vehicle to our own fleet just made sense. Our Public Works crew were enthusiastic about the idea and were actively involved in sourcing and selecting the Might E Truck."
