City of Raleigh
At a Glance
Industry
Government/Public Administration
Project Types
Sustainability and Energy Management Strategy, Zero Emission Vehicles, Freight and Logistics
Year
2023
Location
Raleigh, NC
Summary
Gabe Desmond worked with The City of Raleigh, NC and external consultants at ICF to advance the City’s medium- and heavy-duty fleet electrification work.
Goals
As part of their Community Climate Action Plan, the City of Raleigh, NC is looking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by electrifying the vehicles in their fleet. Given the extra difficulties, costs, and challenges of electrifying medium- and heavy-duty (MD/HD) vehicles, the city enlisted the help of Gabe Desmond to identify strategies and solutions for electrifying this part of their fleet.
Solutions
Gabe approached this challenge by working on three distinct projects:
- Identifying funding sources: With vast amounts of new funding available from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, Gabe identified 13 potential funding streams to offset the cost of electrifying MD/HD fleet vehicles and their associated charging.
- Identifying vehicles to test drive: By engaging with relevant departments, Gabe identified 14 new MD/HD trucks for the city to test drive to ensure they can meet the needs of City staff.
- Creating a web page to educate the public: To support transparency in their work, Gabe created a web page detailing the city’s fleet electrification progress and the importance of fleet electrification.
Potential Impact
By utilizing the grants, rebates, and incentives that Gabe identified, the city can bring the total cost of ownership of electric MD/HD vehicles closer to parity with their gas and diesel counterparts. Already named the 2023 number-one leading fleet by Government Fleet, being an early adopter of new electric MD/HD vehicle technology allows the City of Raleigh to lead by example and amplify its impact by paving the way for local private fleets and other government fleets to electrify.