The City of Plymouth - Northern Indiana Green Fleet of the Year!

Friday, February 14, 2025 at 2:00 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

The City of Plymouth received the Northern Indiana Green Fleet of the Year Award from the statewide nonprofit Drive Clean Indiana. Drive Clean Indiana partners with the Michiana Area Council of Governments to provide grant writing and support for projects that reduce fleet fuel costs for local governments. The city was awarded for piloting four electric vehicles, the greatest number of any municipality in the surrounding northern Indiana region.

In 2024, the Indiana Office of Energy Development awarded the city $225,367 as part of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program to purchase three electric vehicles. Oliver Ford recently delivered three all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup trucks. These vehicles are in service with the Street, Building, and Water departments. They join an existing F-150 Lightning in service in the Parks department. The long-range version of the Lightning Pro Work Truck has sufficient range for daily operations and is rated at up to 320 miles. The vehicles can also power equipment on a job site with an onboard 110V or 240 V power supply from the main battery.

How much will the vehicles save local department budgets? After accounting for electricity costs, savings are estimated at $450 per year per truck, each avoiding 400 gallons of gasoline annually. The fuel savings are due to the greater efficiency, with an energy-equivalent MPG of about 70 miles per gallon, compared to 25 miles per gallon for a conventional Ford F-150. Significant maintenance costs are also estimated over the vehicle’s lifetime. Meanwhile, the main battery is protected by an 8-year, 100,000-mile warranty.