DOE Honors Two EM Sites for Increasing Use of Zero-Emissions Vehicles

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Just in time for Earth Day, DOE named EM’s Portsmouth Site and Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) as Green Fleet Award recipients last week for their exceptional efforts in ordering the most light-duty zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) in fiscal 2023.

The ICP at EM's Idaho National Laboratory Site swapped 70% of its light-duty vehicles ordered with ZEVs and Portsmouth replaced 69% of its light-duty vehicles ordered with ZEVs.

ICP and Portsmouth are part of a broader DOE effort to meet Biden Administration fleet electrification goals aiming to achieve a 100% ZEV fleet by 2035, with 100% light-duty vehicle acquisitions by 2027. In fiscal 2023, DOE ordered over 500 ZEVs, or 50% of all light-duty vehicles ordered, far exceeding its initial goal.

The DOE Office of Management is providing a $300,000 grant to both ICP and Portsmouth in recognition of their outstanding sustainability work. A total of seven DOE sites are receiving grants to order additional ZEVs or install electric vehicle charging infrastructure at their locations. Other grant recipients are:

• Los Alamos National Laboratory;
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory;
• Argonne National Laboratory;
• SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; and
• Y-12 National Security Complex.

All EM sites are working to shift to electric vehicle fleets. Transitioning the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) fleet is estimated to avoid up to 320 metric tons in annual carbon emissions and $50,000 in fuel costs each year based on the national average cost of gas and electricity.

OREM, in partnership with contractor UCOR, is pursuing a transition to low-speed electric vehicles and zero-emissions heavy equipment for its environmental remediation mission.

Meanwhile, the Savannah River Site (SRS) installed eight fast charging stations and is working to construct more stations. In additional phases of the project, SRS will convert mid- and heavy-duty vehicles to zero-emission engines.