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Army looking to expand electric car program

FORT MYER, Va. — As the Army unveiled its first six electric cars in a ceremony Monday, beginning the delivery of 4,000 electrically-powered cars planned for installations around the country, service leaders were already thinking of expanding the program.

“These are the first of the 4,000 we plan to lease over the next three years, but we have 28,000 sedans that we operate in the Army,” said Army Secretary Pete Geren. “As we move ahead we will look for more opportunities to take gasoline-powered vehicles off the road and replace them with electrical systems. This is the first step. Across all of our vehicles we are looking at ways to achieve greater fuel efficiency, not just on installations which these are used for but for deployed forces.”

The 30-mph, lead-acid battery-powered cars are projected to save 11.5 million gallons of fuel over the next six years.

The Army hopes to initiate a greater market for electric cars.

“We hope by showing the rest of the country what we can do with electric vehicles we can potentially drive the technology and the market, including the Chevy Volt [and] the Tesla that are out there now, and show a greater demand,” said Paul Bollinger, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for Energy and Partnerships. “The Army has been a leader in many areas in society and technology and this is one more.”

The first six cars were made by Global Electric Motorcars, a Chrysler subsidiary.

The Army has asked industry to respond to an open competition to deliver the next round of electric cars.

“A notice of intent to lease is on the street now. GSA [General Services Administration] will take all the responses and make a selection. We hope to have vehicles no later than April,” Bollinger said. “The big thing is the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. That is huge.”

Bollinger said the Army's interest in electric cars is poised to keep expanding.

“This is the first part of showing the industry that we are serious about electric vehicles and that we are going to buy more,” said Bollinger. “It is all about the battery technology. One of the things we are looking at in the Army and spending millions of dollars on is enhancing battery technology not only for our vehicles but for our installations. If we put large amounts of renewable energy on our installations, be it solar or wind, it needs to be able to store that power when the sun is not up or the wind is not blowing.”

Geren said the Army's flagship modernization program, Future Combat Systems, is designed to reduce the need to haul fuel around the battlefield by using hybrid-electric, 27-ton Manned Ground Vehicles.

“One of the most dangerous things you do is take fuel to a deployed force, and with our Future Combat Systems there will be a major role played by batteries which will reduce dependence on fossil fuels,” Geren said.

The electric car debut is part of a larger ambitious energy plan unveiled by Geren last fall, calling for construction of new geothermal and solar energy facilities, among other things.