City Council tries out electric powered waste collection vehicle

Published: 25 August 2021

An electric powered waste collection vehicle has been doing the rounds in Exeter as part of the Council’s commitment to a greener city.

Exeter City Council has been trying out the vehicle as it looks to make the city carbon neutral by 2030.

The Waste Operations team took delivery of the vehicle on a short loan and has been using it on various waste collection rounds.

Cllr David Harvey, Lead Councillor for City Management, said the Council was assessing the viability of moving its fleet of diesel-powered recycling and rubbish collection trucks over to more sustainable and environmentally friendly energy sources.

“UK infrastructure for recharging large industrial electric vehicles is still in its early development stages, but we’re keen to stay up-to-date with innovations in new green technology,” he added.

The City Council is currently developing a solar farm in Marsh Barton containing 3,700 solar panels which will create 1.2MW of clean, green energy.

The farm will feature a substantial battery storage capacity to provide flexibility between peak generation and peak usage, and will be able to power the Council’s fleet of vehicles.

The City Council already has a Photo Voltaic (PV) estate of more than 2MW, including a 1.5MW solar installation at the Livestock Centre, which produces enough renewable energy every year to power 180 homes.