From Green Right Now Reports
Five hybrid aerial-lift trucks were unveiled today at Verizon’s Long Island headquarters, the first of 160 alternative-energy vehicles that the company said it will add to its fleet in New York this year.
The five vehicles, also known as bucket trucks, have batteries that help power the engine and also provide the sole power for the mechanical boom that raises a four-sided platform, or “bucket,” to enable a technician to work on overhead telephone lines or other equipment. In the traditional versions of Verizon’s bucket trucks, the mechanical booms are powered by the trucks’ gasoline or diesel engines.
Heavy-duty chargers that plug into an electrical outlet are used to recharge the hybrid trucks’ batteries. The batteries will be recharged at night, when power demand from the nation’s grid — generally the cleanest and most efficiently produced energy — is low, Verizon said.
(Video from Verizon)
On an annual basis, each of Verizon’s five plug-in hybrid trucks is expected to use 750 to 1,500 fewer gallons of fuel and cut greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 7 to 14 tons over the traditional models they replace. Verizon said the hybrid system is also quieter than traditional models, which helps cut noise pollution. The five trucks will be based at the company’s Woodbury garage and primarily serve the northern and central areas of Nassau County.
“Using lower-carbon alternatives to power our fleet and our highly intelligent broadband networks are just some of the ways we’re reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” James Gowen, chief sustainability officer for Verizon, said in a statement. “We’re proud of the fact that as we increase the sustainability of our business we’re also contributing to improved air quality in New York.”
Verizon also said it will roll out more than 1,100 alternative energy vehicles across the country this year, and increasing use of biodiesel and flex-fuel (E85) to power 470 vehicles. The company will operate approximately 250 alternative energy vehicles in New York by the end of 2010.