Of the 25 vehicles operated by the Police Department, six are hybrids — a result of the department’s switch in recent years from gas-powered vehicles to those with dual-fuel systems.
“Those are vehicles that run all the time,” said Police Chief James MacIsaac. “We’ve noticed a significant drop in fuel consumption.”
Now, a year after making the purchase, one of those 25 vehicles is fully electric, marking a first for the department.
Electric vehicles offer a more environmentally friendly alternative to gas or diesel-powered vehicles; they also improve fuel economy, lower fuel costs, and reduce emissions, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Although there are downsides — namely, the metals used to build batteries and the mining required to obtain them — electric vehicles are generally considered better for public health and the environment.
In Belmont, the Police Department’s Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck will primarily be used for hauling items, such as traffic cones, and for hauling a trailer to the firearm range in Harvard, Mass., for training.
“One of the good things about it is we’re going to save money on the service — it doesn’t need oil changes …. The negative is it has to charge,” MacIsaac said. “It can’t be used 24 hours a day like the other vehicles.”
Over the years, department heads across Belmont have warmed up to the idea of electric vehicles, according to co-chair of the Belmont Energy Committee Roger Wrubel. The Facilities Department and Health Department, for example, each have an electric Nissan LEAF, he said.
According to Belmont Light General Manager Craig Spinale, Belmont Light has three electric Ford Mustang Mach-Es. The department also has several Ford Escape hybrids that will be replaced with all-electric vehicles when the Escapes reach the end of their useful life. And finally, Spinale said he expects two bucket trucks to be delivered this year. They will have electric telescoping booms, so they don’t require vehicles to run all day. The engines, however, will still run on diesel.
Although Belmont Light has helped the town procure equipment in the past, such as the Level 2 electric vehicle chargers that were replaced at the Water Department, it doesn’t typically have any involvement with the town’s purchase of electric vehicles.
“In the case of the Police Department, our Energy Resource Manager provided some insight to what we do at the light department and why we use what we use, but they are running their project without any other need from us,” Spinale said in an email to The Voice.
Wrubel explained that each year, the Energy Committee reviews capital requests coming through the Capital Budget Committee.
“If there’s a vehicle that could be replaced by an electric vehicle, we talk to the people and … try to convince them to look at electric vehicles,” he said.
Wrubel said many towns around Belmont have a form of “emissions-free municipal policy.” Those policies essentially outline that in the event a new vehicle is needed, town officials will first look at electric as an option, then hybrid, and finally a “fuel-efficient” gas vehicle.
“It puts in place a procedure the departments go through,” he said. “I think what’s happened without having that policy is the department heads have started doing that anyway.”
Wrubel said he was excited to learn that MacIsaac had chosen an electric vehicle.
“You don’t have any tailpipe emissions; that’s sort of the main thing from the Energy Committee,” Wrubel said. “Electric is cheaper than gas … and they have better pickup than gas cars.”
Though the Energy Committee has previously encouraged electric patrol vehicles, MacIsaac has pushed back, according to Wrubel.
It’s not just the inability to run the vehicles 24/7, MacIsaac said, though that is a large part of it. According to MacIsaac, the electric vehicles out there now aren’t equipped to be outfitted in the way a patrol car would need. The hybrids, meanwhile, come with heavy-duty brakes, heavy-duty cooling and charging systems, and additional storage.
“The vehicle we drive 24/7 has got to be a rugged vehicle and take that stuff,” he said. “Tesla and things like that, you can’t put prisoner cages in them because of the roofs. … They just don’t meet the standards of a full-service line car.”
That said, if the new truck is available for use, MacIsaac said he would encourage officers who are interested to use it for patrol.
When the time comes, he will be willing to explore electric options for his patrol fleet.
“I fully expect that once it becomes feasible to have electric vehicles full time, that we … would be more than eager to take them on,” MacIsaac said. “Especially here, we’re a long way from that. … As technology improves, we’ll see what happens. I’m not averse to them at all.”
The shift from gas to hybrid, and ultimately to electric, aligns with the town’s goals for the future. In 2009, Town Meeting voted to support the Belmont Climate Action Plan, which calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, based on 2007 levels. In 2019, seeing a need for more strategic steps to meet these goals, the Energy Committee prepared the Belmont Climate Action Roadmap, which was also adopted by Town Meeting.
“Electric cars are the future,” Wrubel said. “Belmont has made a commitment to reduce its carbon emissions, and the town can set a model of good behavior and move to electric vehicles whenever they can, move along in the right direction.”
