A Cleaner Future
AGL steers towards a cleaner future with fleet electric vehicles .
WORDS BY NSW GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING , INDUSTRY AND ENVIRONMENT
AGL is an early adopter of electric vehicles
( EVs ), and since 2018 10 % of the company ’ s fleet has been EVs .
Its current EV fleet includes three battery electric vehicles ( BEVs ) and 38 Plug-In-Hybrid ( PHEV ) vehicles . These numbers are set to grow with a revised procurement policy favouring electric vehicles .
“ We are moving towards a situation where the default choice will be an electric vehicle and there would have to be a reason for not choosing that option ,” said Bede Doherty , AGL ’ s Project Manager - Electric Vehicles .
Full fleet electrification isn ’ t yet feasible for AGL , largely due to a lack of electric ‘ utes ’.
Wider availability of electric industrial vehicles will help AGL to achieve its 10-year target of electrifying 100 % of its light vehicle and at least 50 % of its heavy vehicles .
AGL has teamed up with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency ( ARENA ) to conduct a large-scale three-year charging trial involving 300 electric cars belonging to its residential customers . The aim is to understand how EVs could help the wider energy system by ‘ orchestrating ’ vehicle charging within AGL ’ s Virtual Power Plant ( VPP ).
With the use of smart chargers , AGL will be able to control when their customers ’ electric vehicles charge , and shift charging from peak to off-peak times and support the integration of renewables into the energy system . This approach will help lower customers ’ bills and support the grid .
Extensive charger testing on AGL ’ s own electric vehicles formed the initial phase of this research project .
Another function of AGL ’ s BEVs is educational . AGL provides BEV-specific driver training and encourages staff to borrow the cars for business use via an online booking system . Employees can also take the cars home for “ Educationals ” where their partners can drive them too , under AGL ’ s extended insurance policy .
AGL says staff enjoy driving the BEVs and their feedback helps to inform future fleet transition .
If you ’ re thinking about switching your fleet to EV ’ s , register to receive the latest updates about NSW Government support for BEVs .
18 ISSUE 26 DECEMBER 2020 / WWW . AFMA . ORG . AU