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FPL Group and Duke Energy Will Transition Fleets to PHEVs and All-Electric Vehicles

FPL Group, Inc. and Duke Energy recently announced a commitment to transition their company cars and trucks to plug-in hybrid or all-electric vehicles. The announcement was made during the Clinton Global Initiative’s (CGI) fifth annual meeting in New York City.

The joint commitment represents more than 10,000 vehicles and potential revenues of at least $600 million for manufacturers who can produce viable plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). The conversion has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 125,000 metric tons over the next 10 years.

Duke Energy and FPL Group say they will begin this transition in the coming years – with the goal that 100 percent of all new fleet vehicles will be plug-in electric vehicles or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by 2020.

Plug-in electric vehicles reduce overall carbon emissions by up to 70 percent (100 percent if charged by zero-carbon renewable energy sources), and lower fuel costs by about 80 percent. If PEVs replaced all gasoline-powered vehicles in the United States, they would reduce the need for foreign oil imports by nearly two-thirds.

The initiative will begin Jan. 1, 2010, when both companies will begin tracking their commitment. While passenger vehicles and smaller trucks are already planned, Duke Energy and FPL Group will work closely with manufacturers to test and measure the effectiveness of prototype bucket trucks in 2011 and 2012. The remainder of the commitment period will be spent transitioning vehicles, educating the public, soliciting additional partners, and providing periodic progress updates. The project is scheduled for completion Dec. 31, 2020.