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07-04-2006, 10:44 AM
High Point starts, while Greensboro benefits from an early start (http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060704/NEWSREC0101/607040301)
Kory Dodd - News-Record - July 4, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/06_Mercury_Mariner_Hybrid.jpg
2007 Mercury Mariner Hybrid - Fuel Efficient and Park Ranger ready.
HIGH POINT, NC. - When city officials approached park ranger Greg Warren a year ago about testing a hybrid SUV, he was excited, but cautious.
Park rangers had been desperate to get a four-wheel drive vehicle since the city stopped buying them in the early '90s. The Ford Escape Hybrid has four-wheel drive, but Warren had never driven a hybrid before and didn't know what to expect.
Though the lack of engine noise was unnerving at first, Warren said he fell in love with the car.
"I'm very proud of it," Warren said. "It's a different style of vehicle for law enforcement and a lot of people aren't expecting it."
And the best part: "I'm running about three times the gas mileage as the Crown Victorias the other guys (park rangers) drive," Warren said.
Warren's hybrid is one of three the city of High Point purchased to test in its search of ways to cut fuel costs.
This year, city officials said increasing fuel costs forced them to approve a 1.5-cent increase in the property tax.
With the city's fuel consumption hitting 800,000 gallons a year and prices expected to keep soaring, High Point officials said they have to consider all their options.
But they haven't found a good alternative yet.
Hybrids each cost about $4,000 more than the city's regular gasoline-based cars, said Paul Damron, director of the city's fleet services.
While fuel efficiency is a benefit, it's not enough.
"To me right now they are not that great of savings with the extra cost of the vehicle," Damron said.
City officials also have checked on alternative fuels, including E-85, the ethanol mixture, and biodiesel, but Assistant City Manager Jerry Yarborough said they aren't cost-effective.
Switching to E-85 would require the city to either purchase another storage tank or clean out one it's already using, Damron said.
"We don't have the fuel facilities for it right now," Damron said. "The only capacity I've got is diesel and unleaded gas."
And E-85 can only be used in a limited number of vehicles - mostly newer models sold in the past few years.
As for biodiesel, Yarborough said the city doesn't have a place to store it, while Damron said the lack of local suppliers would force the city to pay to have it shipped in.
And both alternative fuels cost either the same as or more than regular gas.
"We're stuck right now," Damron said. "We're still looking real hard and trying to do a little bit of experiments here and there."
Damron said he will continue to talk to his counterparts in surrounding cities like Greensboro who are already using alternative fuels.
In 2002, Greensboro began replacing diesel with an alternative fuel, B20 - a 20 percent biodiesel, 80 percent petroleum-based diesel mixture - in its heavy-duty vehicles, said equipment services manager Gary Smith.
The city purchases the mixture from Potter Oil Company, located outside of Raleigh, and uses several grants to defray the costs, Smith said. The mixture cost about a quarter more per gallon, he said.
Greensboro also is planning to expand its hybrid fleet, Smith said. The city owns six Toyota Priuses and plans to buy more as other vehicles are rotated out of city use.
Kory Dodd - News-Record - July 4, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/06_Mercury_Mariner_Hybrid.jpg
2007 Mercury Mariner Hybrid - Fuel Efficient and Park Ranger ready.
HIGH POINT, NC. - When city officials approached park ranger Greg Warren a year ago about testing a hybrid SUV, he was excited, but cautious.
Park rangers had been desperate to get a four-wheel drive vehicle since the city stopped buying them in the early '90s. The Ford Escape Hybrid has four-wheel drive, but Warren had never driven a hybrid before and didn't know what to expect.
Though the lack of engine noise was unnerving at first, Warren said he fell in love with the car.
"I'm very proud of it," Warren said. "It's a different style of vehicle for law enforcement and a lot of people aren't expecting it."
And the best part: "I'm running about three times the gas mileage as the Crown Victorias the other guys (park rangers) drive," Warren said.
Warren's hybrid is one of three the city of High Point purchased to test in its search of ways to cut fuel costs.
This year, city officials said increasing fuel costs forced them to approve a 1.5-cent increase in the property tax.
With the city's fuel consumption hitting 800,000 gallons a year and prices expected to keep soaring, High Point officials said they have to consider all their options.
But they haven't found a good alternative yet.
Hybrids each cost about $4,000 more than the city's regular gasoline-based cars, said Paul Damron, director of the city's fleet services.
While fuel efficiency is a benefit, it's not enough.
"To me right now they are not that great of savings with the extra cost of the vehicle," Damron said.
City officials also have checked on alternative fuels, including E-85, the ethanol mixture, and biodiesel, but Assistant City Manager Jerry Yarborough said they aren't cost-effective.
Switching to E-85 would require the city to either purchase another storage tank or clean out one it's already using, Damron said.
"We don't have the fuel facilities for it right now," Damron said. "The only capacity I've got is diesel and unleaded gas."
And E-85 can only be used in a limited number of vehicles - mostly newer models sold in the past few years.
As for biodiesel, Yarborough said the city doesn't have a place to store it, while Damron said the lack of local suppliers would force the city to pay to have it shipped in.
And both alternative fuels cost either the same as or more than regular gas.
"We're stuck right now," Damron said. "We're still looking real hard and trying to do a little bit of experiments here and there."
Damron said he will continue to talk to his counterparts in surrounding cities like Greensboro who are already using alternative fuels.
In 2002, Greensboro began replacing diesel with an alternative fuel, B20 - a 20 percent biodiesel, 80 percent petroleum-based diesel mixture - in its heavy-duty vehicles, said equipment services manager Gary Smith.
The city purchases the mixture from Potter Oil Company, located outside of Raleigh, and uses several grants to defray the costs, Smith said. The mixture cost about a quarter more per gallon, he said.
Greensboro also is planning to expand its hybrid fleet, Smith said. The city owns six Toyota Priuses and plans to buy more as other vehicles are rotated out of city use.