PRESS RELEASE:
Some of the 1.3 million gallons of fuel Kansas City Police vehicles use every year is becoming cheaper and greener.
Police unveilED their new compressed natural gas vehicles at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, at the Shoal Creek Patrol Division, 6801 N.E. Pleasant Valley Road.
KCPD has two Chevrolet Impalas and is awaiting the delivery of 10 Ford Crown Victorias that are fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG). The CNG vehicles will be administrative cars, used by detectives and commanders. At this time, patrol vehicles cannot use CNG because the fuel tank is placed in the trunk, and patrol officers must carry a large amount of equipment in their trunks.
“We are committed to trying out alternative fuels to keep our fuel costs low and reduce the pollution emitted by our vehicles,” said Major Bob Kuehl, the leader of KCPD’s Fleet Operations Unit.
CNG is running at about $1.20 per gasoline gallon equivalent. It also is a domestic product and could reduce the department’s dependence on foreign oil. This also makes it a more secure source of fuel for first responders in the event of a crisis.
KCPD received funding for the CNG conversions through U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) award DE-EE0002538, a grant coordinated by the Kansas City Regional Clean Cites Coalition. The Coalition, a member of the DOE’s Clean Cities Initiative and administered by Metropolitan Energy Center, is a partnership between private businesses and local governments to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of fuel and increase our region’s air quality through adoption of clean transportation technologies and policies.
The December issue of our Informant newsletter discussed the Kansas City Police Department testing out some alternative fuels for our fleet of vehicles. We're no longer just dipping our toes in. We've committed 12 vehicles to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) and are considering LPG/propane, as well.
KCPD's fleet of vehicles uses about 1.3 million gallons of fuel annually. With gas prices as high and volatile as they've been lately, it is incumbent on us to be prudent with taxpayer dollars by investigating cheaper alternatives to gasoline. With federal stimulus grant funding, we purchased two Chevy Impalas that run on CNG at the end of 2010. They're having radios installed right now and will be out on the streets very soon. Ten Ford Crown Victorias also are about to be converted to run on CNG. These twelve vehicles will be assigned as "administrative cars," meaning they will be used either by commanders or detectives. They will not be used in patrol. The primary reason for that is because the CNG tanks housed in the cars' trunks take up a decent amount of room and don't leave enough space for the considerable equipment patrol officers must have in their vehicles.
Our Fleet Operations unit also is considering purchasing a van for our Supply Section that runs on liquid propane, as well.
Compressed Natural Gas currently costs about $1.40 per gallon, and propane is about $2.86 (although they have different calorific values). Both fuels are produced domestically. CNG and liquid propane both are less likely to ignite in a crash than gasoline, and they both produce lower polluting emissions.
This also is the last year Ford is making the police staple Crown Victoria, and we're looking at a number of possibilities for its replacement. Fuel economy will be an important factor.
