Hundreds of new electric cars for state sector

Date:  13 May 2021 Source:  Office of the Minister for Climate Change

• Total of 422 new electric vehicles and charging infrastructure across the state sector
• $5.1 million for the Department of Conservation to buy 148 electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure
• $1.1 million to help Kāinga Ora buy 40 electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure
• 11,600 tonnes of carbon emissions saved over 10 years

Minister of Climate Change James Shaw, today announced $13.1 million of funding to ensure more state sector staff can get around while also helping the planet.

“Today’s announcement is a significant step towards our goal of carbon neutrality in the public sector within five years,” James Shaw.

“Introducing 422 electric vehicles to the state sector fleet will reduce carbon emissions by around 11,600 tonnes over the next ten years.

“The conversion of Government fleets also means more demand for electric vehicles, which will start flowing through into the second-hand market, making electric vehicles more accessible for everyone."

Funding for the electric vehicles and charging infrastructure will come from the Government’s $200 million State Sector Decarbonisation Fund. The fund is a key tool for supporting public sector agencies to be carbon neutral by 2025.

The funding includes:

• $5.1 million to help the Department of Conservation buy 148 electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure
• $1.1 million to help Kāinga Ora buy 40 electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure

“I think if you ask most people working for Government agencies, they’ll tell you that when they get back from a day visiting a conservation site benefiting from the Government’s jobs for nature funding, or from seeing a family living in a new Kāinga Ora home, they’d prefer to refuel for the next day with electricity, rather than petrol.

“Thanks to today’s announcement, this will soon be the case for many more of our essential public sector workers. It will also mean these trips are helping meet the Government’s emission reduction targets.

“Electric vehicles are much better for the climate than those powered by fossil fuels. Over the life of a typical electric vehicle, the emissions comparison with an internal combustion engine isn’t even close. Electric vehicles are also much are cheaper to run than petrol cars,” James Shaw said.

“It is crucial that we don’t take our foot off the accelerator when it comes to transport emissions,” Acting Conservation Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said.

“DOC is responding to the climate crisis by cutting carbon emissions to meet the government’s expectation of a carbon neutral operating model by 2025.

“The funding will help DOC to remove 490 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per annum from its vehicle fleet emissions profile. That’s a 19% reduction over DOC’s vehicle fleet emissions compared to the 2018/19 financial year. Combined with other DOC vehicle emission reduction programmes, the total projected reduction is 26% once all the electric vehicles are on road,” Ayesha Verrall said.

Further information

Funding for the vehicles will be allocated from the Government’s $200 million State Sector Decarbonisation Fund, administered by EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority).

The Carbon Neutral Government Programme was announced by the Government in 2020, requiring government agencies to measure and publicly report on their emissions and to offset any they can’t cut by 2025.

Agencies are also required to purchase battery electric vehicles (BEVs), or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) if a BEV is not appropriate for the proposed use.

The full list of vehicle projects announced today are:

• $5.127 million for DOC to buy 148 electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure. The Department of Conservation will invest $5.127 million from its own budget. EECA estimates this will reduce carbon emissions by around 4,900 tonnes over the next ten years (around 490 tonnes per annum on average over ten years)
• $4.306 million for Northland DHB to lease 150 electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure. Northland DHB will invest $4.306 million from its own budget. EECA estimates this will reduce carbon emissions by around 3,840 tonnes over the next ten years (around 384 tonnes per annum on average over ten years)
• $1.126 million for Kāinga Ora to buy 40 electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure. Kāinga Ora will invest $1.126 million from its own budget. EECA estimates this project will reduce carbon emissions by around 860 tonnes over the next ten years (around 86 tonnes per annum on average over ten years).
• $0.096 million for Scion to buy three electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure. Scion will invest $0.105 million from its own budget. EECA estimates this will reduce carbon emissions by around 65 tonnes over the next ten years (around 6 tonnes per annum on average over ten years).
• $0.084 million for Ministry of Education to lease three electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure. The Ministry of Education will invest $0.084 million from its own budget. We estimate that this will reduce carbon emissions by around 64 tonnes over the next ten years (around 6 tonnes per annum on average over ten years).
• $0.758 million for ACC to buy 25 electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure. ACC will invest $0.758 million from its own budget. EECA estimates this project will reduce carbon emissions by around 350 tonnes over the next ten years (around 35 tonnes per annum on average over ten years).
• $0.493 million for Te Puni Kōkiri to buy 16 electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure.  Te Puni Kokiri will invest $0.511 million from its own budget. EECA estimates this project will reduce carbon emissions by around 363 tonnes over the next ten years (around 36.3 tonnes per annum on average over ten years).
• $0.108 million for Statistics New Zealand to buy four electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure. Statistics New Zealand will invest $0.108 million from its own budget. EECA estimates this project will reduce carbon emissions by around 78 tonnes over the next ten years (around 7.8 tonnes per annum on average over ten years).
• $0.029 million for Hawkes Bay DHB to buy one electric vehicle and install charging infrastructure. Hawkes Bay DHB will invest $0.032 million from its own budget. EECA estimates this project will reduce carbon emissions by around 36 tonnes over the next ten years (around 3.6 tonnes per annum on average over ten years).
• $0.983 million for New Zealand Defence Force to procure 32 electric vehicles (a mix of leasing and buying) and install charging infrastructure. New Zealand Defence Force will invest $1.380 million from its own budget. EECA estimates this will reduce carbon emissions by around 1,050 tonnes over the next ten years (around 105 tonnes per annum on average over ten years).

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