Posted on Friday 9th June 2023
Nine new all-electric vehicles will be hitting the road in Staffordshire, as part of the county council’s highways fleet.
The nine Renault Zoes are 100 per cent electric, and will be used by highways officers to travel around the county making their inspections.
Because these cars do not use fossil fuels, it is estimated that the county council will save around 75 per cent in fuel costs. The cars are also 40 per cent cleaner than a vehicle that uses petrol or diesel.
Added to this, each car will save around two tonnes of CO2 a year—the equivalent weight of two great white sharks or two of Staffordshire’s carbon bubbles, directly contributing to the county council’s carbon net zero target.
The vehicles are the latest innovation in Staffordshire’s drive to become carbon net zero by 2050. Others in highways have included using biofuel in the majority of the county council’s gritting fleet, and recycling road materials that would previously end up in landfill.
Staffordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport David Williams said:
“A large highways operation like ours must look at options to reduce its carbon footprint, so anything we can do to move to more environmentally-friendly alternatives will have a big impact. We are always looking at ways we can reduce our carbon output in highways, such as using biofuel in our gritters and recycling the materials we use.”
Staffordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Change Simon Tagg said:
“These nine new vehicles will contribute directly to reducing the amount of carbon we generate, as well as saving us money on diesel fuel costs. The cars will also save around 18 tonnes of carbon a year between them, and will make a significant impact on our carbon output as well as helping highways inspectors get out and about across the county.”