DPW purchases 10 electric cars

By Chelsea Bissell, U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria Public AffairsJanuary 27, 2015

Powering up
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Unloading the future
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VILSECK, Germany -- The U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria Directorate of Public Works received a shipment of 10 electric utility vehicles to use in their daily operations, Jan. 22.

The new vehicles will be powered by electricity generated from sustainable sources already in place in the garrison.

"The electricity for the new electric vehicles, in large quantity, comes from the numerous solar panels mounted on many roofs of the installation," said Elisabeth Prem, USAG Bavaria Environmental Department.

DPW will use the new cars to travel among work sites in Tower Barracks, Rose Barracks and the Grafenwoehr Training Area using electric power. While outdated views paint electric cars as ineffectual, the modern vehicles are functional and outfitted for the specific needs of DPW.

"The electric utility vehicles have a range of about 100 kilometers, are equipped and constructed for the needs of the different workshops and consume only about a third of the energy and maintenance costs of conventional vehicles," said Harald Mueller, USAG Bavaria Construction and Planning Division chief.

The purchase of the electric cars adds to USAG Bavaria's track record for environmentalism, which includes successful Net Zero waste initiatives and several awards for the most environmental U.S. Army installation.

Col. Mark Colbrook, USAG Bavaria commander, approved the order of the electric vehicles to reduce fuel costs and support energy saving policies of the U.S. government.

"The purchase of electric commercial vehicles is one of many initiatives of the garrison environmental protection programs," said Colbrook. "We protect the environment and still save energy costs."

Franz Zeilmann contributed to reporting.

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