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Charleston, SC.- The city of Charleston introduced its first electric cars to its fleet as part of a plan to reduce its carbon footprint by the end of the decade.
The two new all-electric Nissan Leafs will be used by the city’s courier service and planning department.
AIM
Mayor John Tecklenburg said it’s the first step in a much bigger goal: reducing the city’s carbon footprint by 34% by 2030.
Tecklenburg said these vehicles will be much cheaper to maintain in the long run compared to others that run on gasoline because there are fewer moving parts, such as a radiator or oil to change.
CHARGING STATIONS
Officials said they budget millions of dollars each year to pay for about 750,000 gallons of fuel for the city’s fleet, including police and fire vehicles.
In addition to the new cars, the city said it will double the number of charging stations in parking lots by the end of the year. The eight existing stations currently will be replaced by newer variants.
The mayor said they will look to convert other vehicles, such as garbage trucks and street sweepers, to electric as well.
For now, the city said they will use the public chargers installed in the parking lots to charge the cars.
The city is also working on an ordinance that would add additional charging infrastructure, such as more outlets and charging stations, to the new construction. A first draft of that new rule was presented in February.
