As fleet vehicle purchasing announcements go, it is certainly one that makes you sit up and take notice. FPL Group Inc., the parent company of Florida Power & Light Co., and Duke Energy, which serves customers in five states, announced plans to transition their fleets to plug-in hybrid or all-electric vehicles (PEVs). The joint commitment, set to begin on Jan. 1, 2010, represents more than 10,000 vehicles by the end of 2020.

The FPL/Duke initiative includes passenger vehicles and smaller trucks, as well as plans to work with manufacturers to test and measure the effectiveness of prototype bucket trucks in 2011 and 2012. Reaching the goal of having 100% of new fleet vehicles consist of PEV models could mean potential revenues of at least $600 million for manufacturers that can produce viable alternatives.

The conversion of these two fleets alone will have a significant impact through cleaner air, reduced noise pollution and less dependence on foreign oil. For example, replacing 10,000 vehicles over 10 years has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 125,000 metric tons and lower fuel costs by about 80%.

“A 10-year commitment gives us time to adopt, test and integrate new technology into our fleets as a wider range of vehicles are developed,” said Jim Rogers, chairman, president and CEO of Duke Energy. “Currently, the only near-term option PEVs are sedans, minivans, vans and a few bucket trucks. Over a 10-year horizon, it is expected that options will be available for most utility service categories.”

FPL and Duke also called for a wide variety of organizations to commit to greening their vehicle fleets, including corporations, governments, universities and other agencies. “The more organizations that join this initiative, the more we can develop a sustainable transportation future and address serious challenges such as energy security and climate change,” said Lew Hay, FPL Group chairman and CEO.

The FPL/Duke commitment also is intended to provide the transportation industry with evidence that a robust market for plug-in vehicles exists. Not needing much convincing, however, is Pacific Gas and Electric Co., a subsidiary of PG&E Corp., which has partnered with Terex Utilities to develop and utilize a hybrid-electric approach to operating the manufacturer’s aerial devices. Dave Meisel, director of transportation services at PG&E, explained the program during the 2009 Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference (EUFMC) in Williamsburg, Va.

The Terex HyPower Hybrid System, Meisel related, is a hybrid approach to providing auxiliary and emergency hydraulic power for engine-off operation of aerial devices. “Terex Utilities saw our interest in having the ability to operate our equipment from alternative energy sources,” he said, “and teamed up with Parker Hannifin, a manufacturer of motion and control technologies, to develop and produce a utility industry-specific hybrid solution.”

Available from Terex on any new chassis as well as for retrofit on older units, the HyPower system has an engine-off time with AGM batteries of six to eight hours, during which it provides power for lighting, tools, electric cab air conditioning and heating. Recharging options include a plug-in mode (eight hours for a full charge at 110V), an automatic mode during which five minutes of engine on time provides 15 minutes of boom operation and a manual mode where the operator can run the engine for 20 minutes to fully replenish the batteries.

Terex Utilities is planning to have 25 field test units available this quarter and production units of the HyPower system ready for 2010 orders.

Editor’s Note: The 57th annual EUFMC will be held June 20-23, 2010 in Williamsburg, Va. For more information, visit www.eufmc.com.