Sep 1 2011
Air Force officials unveiled a plan Aug. 31 to establish Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., as the first federal facility to replace 100 percent of its general purpose fleet with plug-in electric vehicles.
"With gas prices rising and the cost of batteries falling, now is the time to move toward electric vehicles," said Undersecretary of the Air Force Erin Conaton. "The 100-percent Electric Vehicle Base initiative is a critical first step in this direction and will help guide the way for broader fleet electrification."
Initial planning for the installation of charging infrastructure at Los Angeles AFB is already underway, and the vehicles could be in place as soon as January 2012.
As part of the program, all Air Force-owned and -leased general purpose fleet vehicles on the base will be replaced with PEVs. There are approximately 40 eligible vehicles, ranging from passenger sedans to two-ton trucks and shuttle buses. The replacement PEVs include fully-electric, plug-in hybrid electric, and extended-range electric vehicles.
The initiative would not include force protection, tactical and emergency response vehicles, which would remain on an exempt status, according to officials. The program is also subject to environmental review.
Electrification of Los Angeles AFB's general purpose fleet is the first implementation step in an ongoing Department of Defense effort to establish strategies for large-scale integration of PEVs.
The broader PEV program is focused on identifying pathways to establish cost parity between PEVs and comparable conventional vehicles in targeted segments of the DOD fleet.
In addition to the 100-percent Electric Vehicle Base initiative, DOD officials began conducting site assessments to determine the infrastructure costs and operational considerations associated with installing vehicle charging stations. DOD has also partnered with the General Services Administration to launch a comprehensive study of the residual values and useful lives of PEVs relative to conventional vehicles.
"(Los Angeles) Air Force Base will serve as a model for future efforts to bring PEVs into the Air Force and DOD," said Dr. Camron Gorguinpour, the special assistant to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics.
According to Gorguinpour, the base was selected as the test location for a variety of reasons.
"They have a small, diverse general purpose vehicle fleet that will lessen operational risks and maximize value to the base energy management program," he added.
Los Angeles AFB is continuing to expand its use of solar energy, and the new electric vehicles may be used to support and optimize the base's solar energy infrastructure. Moreover, Los Angeles AFB is ideally located to demonstrate a variety of vehicle-to-grid activities. Using vehicle-to-grid technologies, electric vehicles can provide valuable services back to the grid while plugged in. This helps offset the cost of the vehicles and supports the electrical demands on the public grid.
The Air Force and DOD are actively exploring the operation and financial feasibility for broad-scale implementation of vehicle-to-grid on their bases.
"Worldwide, the DOD has about 200,000 vehicles in its fleet, so there's a whole lot of opportunity for us to look at creative ways to advance PEVs and other emerging technologies," Gorguinpour said.