Visit the Swampscott Town Hall in the past month and a half?
One may have caught a glimpse of Swampscott’s newest wheels: A pair of 2019 Chevrolet Volts, kept to the side lot where municipal employees park their cars.
“These cars are being added to the town’s fleet for use by inspectional services in conducting inspections, as well as being used by other departments for town business-related travel, such as traveling to conferences or regional meetings,” wrote Swampscott Assistant Town Administrator for Administration and Finance Ron Mendes in an email.
The Chevy Volts are plug-in hybrids, so they run on gasoline and electricity.
High-capacity batteries
The vehicles – equipped with high-capacity batteries – are charged by plugging them into an electrical outlet or charging station. In preparation for the vehicles’ arrival here, the town installed a charging station out town hall’s main entrance. The batteries store enough electricity to significantly reduce their gasoline use under typical driving conditions.
The Chevy Volt’s average range when fully charged is 53 miles per gallon, according to fueleconomy.gov. When the battery runs low, a gasoline-powered generator turns on. On a full tank, the car can cover an average of 420 miles – at 42 gallons per gallon.
“They are incredibly efficient and economical vehicles for municipal business,” said Swampscott Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald, adding that the electric vehicles and charging station are “smart investments.”
Swampscott Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald called the electric vehicles and charging station “smart investments.”
The Chevy Volts’ cost $70,127.58, the charging station $11,560.40, bringing the project’s total to $81,687.98. However, the town reduced the total cost to $56,939.98, having secured $7,248 in National Grid rebates and $18,500 in share-cost grant from the Massachusetts Electric Vehicle Incentive Program.
Fitzgerald said the town covered the remaining $56,939.98 for the electric vehicles with money allocated in the fiscal year 2019 capital improvement plan.
Reducing the town’s footprint
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection grant program – which offers money on a first-come, first-served basis until all funding is spent – helps public entities acquire electric vehicles and install charging stations for their fleets.
The Swampscott Renewable Energy Committee pointed town hall to the Mass
“We have an all-star renewable energy committee,” said Fitzgerald.
The Chevy Volt’s acquisition represents another notch in Swampscott’s ongoing efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint – from its Green Community designation, bans on plastic bags and straws, replacement of incandescent lights to light-emitting diode ones both streetlights and in municipal buildings, adoption of a popular green-power program among others.
Fitzgerald said the town plans to transition some of its diesel trucks into hybrid ones, noting battery kits to convert them exist.
“Electric vehicles are important to a cleaner, greener future,” said Fitzgerald.
