Xcel buying two electric commercial vehicles - TwinCities.com
Xcel Energy is taking another step toward figuring out how a possible electric-car future might work, announcing Wednesday that it has banded with a group of city and county governments to buy some of the first all-electric commercial vans from Ford starting this year.2011 Ford E-Series | Choose an E-Series Van That's Right For You | FordVehicles.com
The Minneapolis-based utility already has announced plans to build solar-powered electric car charging stations along University Avenue between Minneapolis and St. Paul, and now it will buy two all-electric Ford Transit Connect Electric commercial vans for its companywide fleet of 51 light-duty vans starting next year.
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With the introduction of the Chevy Volt this fall, Xcel anticipates electric cars to start plugging into the grid in significant numbers within three to four years and it wants to be prepared, Palmer said.
The utility has five converted plug-in hybrid Ford Escapes, but the Turkish-built Transit Connects, which cost about $65,000 each, will be the utility's first all-electric vehicles, Palmer said.
St. Paul is using $280,000 of federal stimulus funds to buy two electric vans and install charging stations around town, said Anne Hunt, Mayor Chris Coleman's environmental policy director.
The city hasn't decided which departments will get the vans, but they can be used to carry traveling laptops for the library system or portable playground equipment for the parks department, she said.
$27,970
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