The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), a regional association of local governments, has partnered with the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) and Smith Electric Vehicles for a pilot program that will deploy 30 of Smith’s Newton electric trucks in the Houston-Galveston region, the country’s fifth-largest metropolitan area.

The project is partly financed by a grant from the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), which selected the Houston-Galveston area because of its high level of air pollution. CTE, a nonprofit organization focused on transportation technology, will manage the project, collect data, and report on the project’s impact.

Over the two-year demonstration period, H-GAC expects to reduce diesel consumption by 250,000 gallons, and greenhouse gas emissions by 75 million tons.

The vehicles that will be deployed are based on Smith’s latest production model Series 2000, and include the company’s proprietary Smith Power, with variable 40-120 kWh battery pack options, Smith Drive, and Smith Link, an onboard system for monitoring the vehicle’s vital statistics.

Fleet managers operating in the Houston-Galveston area that are interested in participating in the program are encouraged to contact Smith Electric at http://www.smithelectric.com/contact-us.

Source: Smith Electric Vehicles