Town of Chapel Hill
At a Glance
Industry
Government/Public Administration
Project Type
Zero Emission Vehicles, Freight and Logistics
Year
2022
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Summary
Karina developed a municipal fleet electrification analysis through 2050 for the Town of Chapel Hill.
Goals
The Town of Chapel Hill is challenged with reducing the carbon emissions from its vehicle fleet. It must balance priorities between budgeting, sustainability, and service provision. The Town enlisted Karina to create a roadmap to electrify all Town fleet light-and-medium-duty vehicles by 2040, and all heavy-duty vehicles by 2050.
Solutions
Karina started by compiling fleet data into a comprehensive spreadsheet. She used the DRVE Tool to estimate when each of the fleet’s vehicle classes would achieve total cost of ownership parity with conventional vehicles. She then constructed three electrification scenarios: business as usual, cautious electrification, and accelerated electrification. Each scenario evaluated the following impacts:
-
Number of Electric vehicles purchased
-
Estimated cost of EV charging infrastructure (hardware and installation)
-
Total fleet vehicle replacement budget
-
Fuel and operation and maintenance savings from EVs
-
Carbon emissions avoided from EVs
-
Social cost of avoided carbon emissions
Based on scenario results, she determined whether the Town could meet its electrification goals.
Potential Impact
The scenarios lay out ways the Town can meet the goals set out in its 2021 Climate Action and Response Plan. By adopting the accelerated electrification scenario, the Town could meet its electrification goals early and reduce its carbon emissions by 2,861 metric tons through 2050.
By adopting the cautious electrification scenario, the Town could still meet its electrification goals and reduce its carbon emissions by 1,414 metric tons through 2050.