Peoria Focus Online - 2008, Issue 2

Peoria Embraces Use of Alternative-Fuel Vehicles

Public Works Department Focuses on Environment

A new ethanol (E-85) tank installed at Peoria’s Municipal Operations Center (MOC) will make Peoria the first municipal government in Arizona with on-site fueling capability for flex-fuel vehicles.

Made possible by an $80,000 grant from the Gila River Indian Community, the purchase and installation of the tank is one of several environmental initiatives spearheaded by the city’s Public Works Department, which comprises the Facilities, Fleet, Solid Waste, Streets and Transit divisions.

E-85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Peoria has 71 vehicles that can run on the mix and will continue purchasing E-85 capable vehicles when replacing older models.

Most large city vehicles, such as fire engines, use bio-diesel fuel. Additional vehicles being added to the city fleet run on an ethanol blend called E-85. Using alternative fuels keeps the air cleaner and offsets the use of foreign oil.

The goal is to have bio-fuel capability (E-85 or bio-diesel) in 75 percent of its fleet in five years. There is no additional cost to purchase an E-85 vehicle versus a vehicle that cannot take the fuel.“

The money from the Gila River Indian Community moved our plans up by four or five years – we’re now a leader among municipalities in bio-fuel capability,” said city Fleet Manager Warren Laing, who has made a priority of expanding the use of bio-fuel in city vehicles.

Vehicles that burn E-85 get fewer miles per gallon, but the mixture is cheaper than standard petroleum gasoline, so the per-mile cost of fueling the vehicle is similar.

And E-85 is manufactured in Arizona. The ethanol is produced by Pinal Energy in Casa Grande and shipped to a facility in Phoenix that blends it with gasoline to create E-85. The new tank will permit drivers of the city’s flex-fuel vehicles to fill their tanks at the MOC, located at the southwest corner of 79^th and Olive avenues.

Adding ethanol capability to the city’s fleet will have an annual greenhouse-gas impact equal to removing 13 vehicles from the road. In the course of a year, a vehicle burning E-85 uses about one-third the petroleum products and produces 20 percent fewer greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) than the same vehicle burning standard gasoline, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

In fall 2005, Peoria introduced bio-diesel to its fleet, mostly for large equipment used in road construction and solid-waste collection. That displaced about 3,000 barrels of foreign oil annually in favor of a domestically produced bio-fuel. Laing estimates that adding the E-85 capability will displace an additional 1,000 barrels of foreign oil per year – a number that will rise as new, ethanol-capable machines replace older vehicles over time.

“In the past few years, Peoria has come a long way in doing our part to improve the Valley’s air quality,” Laing said. “It’s not a panacea, but it’s a start.”

Peoria has adopted other environmentally friendly practices as well. City mechanics recycle used antifreeze, hydraulic fluid and motor oil. High-efficiency lighting and water-saving devices are installed in city buildings where automated climate-control systems adjust the heating or air conditioning depending upon whether a room is in use. And each employee work station is equipped with a small recycling bin.

In the community, Peoria’s Solid Waste Division made a big splash when it rolled out curbside recycling last fall, but the division also offers residents the opportunity to dispose of items that don’t belong in either bin – garbage or recycling. The city holds periodic “household hazard waste” collection events where residents can get rid of paint, solvents, motor oil, batteries – even old electronics – that don’t belong in landfills.

The Streets Division collects ground-up asphalt from road-milling projects for use in reducing dust on roads with dirt shoulders. It also is using light-emitting diode (LED) displays in traffic signals, which has cut their power consumption in half.

The Transit Division operates trip-reduction programs to encourage city employees and the public to walk, bike, car pool or take a bus. Transit also is working to increase the amount and frequency of public transportation in the city. Peoria maintains two free Park & Ride lots in Oldtown. They are at the northeast corner of Jefferson Street and 84th Avenue and the southwest corner of Washington Street and 84th Avenue -- near Valley Metro’s Peoria Avenue (No. 106) and Grand Avenue Limited bus routes. Both lines serve Peoria Monday through Friday; the Grand Avenue buses take commuters to downtown Phoenix in the morning and bring them back at the end of the workday.

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