Concerns about how excess carbon emissions affect the environment continue to shape the policies of the U.S. Federal Government. Through increased funding for research and development of technologies designed to reduce carbon emissions, new opportunities have emerged to assist the Federal Government in implementing meaningful policies designed to assist Federal Agencies in achieving a reduction of their carbon footprint. One area that stands at the forefront of achieving those goals is the increased use of plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles (EV).
In December 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14057. This order directed the departments and agencies of the U.S. government to replace their existing government vehicle fleets with zero emission vehicles, beginning with all acquisitions of light duty trucks, passenger vehicles, and light duty vans by 2027 with 100% of the government vehicle fleet converted to zero emission vehicles by 2035. Meeting the objectives put forth by the President is not without challenges.
Speaking with Zeke Hill, Program Manager in the Office of Facilities Management AMP-001, he provides a clearer picture of the challenges that the Aeronautical Center faces in implementing the President’s directives. When asked about the most difficult challenge, Zeke responded, "The present challenge is the lead time issues in procuring the material needed for the infrastructure upgrade on Center as well as delivery of the all-electric vehicles by the General Services Administration (GSA)."
The FAA’s Aviation Property Management group (APM) is managing the replacement of the entire FAA GOV vehicle fleet. Doreen Boschee, an employee in APM-400 is is the National FAA Fleet Manager, and she offered insight on how procurement of the new, zero emission vehicles is proceeding. "Currently, GSA offerings are limited and funding for Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure could alter the timeline for implementation of the new zero emission fleet," Boschee said. Fortunately, the Architecture and Engineering AMP 400 Division was able to work with APM-200 to procure adequate funding for upgrading the infrastructure on the Aeronautical Center, which is necessary to support the new electric vehicles.
Presently, the Aeronautical Center is in the process of installing enough EV charging stations for 20 GOV vehicles with 4 additional spares for future expansion of the GOV electric fleet. The charging stations will be located throughout the grounds of the Aeronautical Center with the bulk of the charging stations being centrally located in the large parking lot West of the Multi-Purpose Building (MPB) and the area adjacent to the North of the Base Maintenance Building (BMB). Upgrades to the Aeronautical Center’s electrical infrastructure should be completed soon and installation of the new charging stations finished by late spring of 2023. One new Ford F150 Lightning EV has been allocated and will be delivered in March of 2023. AMP-300 will utilize the truck for the operations and maintenance contractor at the Center. GSA delivery of the additional new electric vehicles is yet to be determined. But even with the possible delays, the Aeronautical Center will be fully prepared to receive the new, zero emission vehicles as they become available.
