UNC Charlotte

Project

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is converting their entire fleet of on-campus maintenance vehicles to alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs).

On the Road to Success

Alternative Fuel Vehicle Technology

• The Solar Center's Alternative Fuel Incentive Project grant allowed UNC-Charlotte to purchase two GEM electric vehicles to replace two gasoline powered maintenance vehicles.
  


• The University currently owns 24 GEMs.
  

• GEMs, or Global Electric Motorcars, are low-speed zero-emission vehicles designed to replace petroleum-fueled vehicles for short trips in an effort to reduce air pollution.
  

• GEMs are street legal on roads with speed limits up to 35 miles per hour, and they require no special charging stations other than standard 110-volt electrical outlets.

• Calculations demonstrate that the two vehicles purchased with the AFIP grant will ultimately pay for themselves. One will generate savings to replace its cost in 14.5 months, and the other will do the same in 30 months (based on each vehicle's estimated operating hours).

• Since 2005, UNCC has added more than 56 low speed electric vehicles to its fleet and plans to triple that number in the future.

• “And we’re also trying to teach our students how important recycling, reduction of fossil fuels and conserva¬tion of water is, so they can take that knowledge out into the world.” – Stephen Terry, UNCC Construction Process Coordinator
  
  

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