Severn Trent to replace fleet with alternative fuel vehicles

The water company will introduce its first fully electric vans in November

Severn Trent has pledged to replace 2,200 vans, cars and tankers with alternative fuel vehicles within the next 10 years, as part of its commitment to green energy.

The company will be starting with its light commercial vehicle fleet, with its first fully electric vans hitting the roads next month. The first batch of four Nissan e-NV200 electric vans, will have a range of 106 miles and charge in 30 minutes.

Severn Trent said it plans to convert its entire fleet “as soon as possible” as the “right technology comes on stream”.

Liv Garfield, chief executive of Severn Trent, announced the news at Utility Week’s Congress 2017 in Birmingham last week (12 October).

She said: “We’re going to work through all our 2,200 vans, cars and tankers to replace them with alternative fuel vehicles as soon as it’s viable and the technology is in place, we’ll be ready and raring to go.”

She added: “We’re really clear that this is where the future lies for us. Our colleagues clock up a lot of miles every year helping customers and using alternative fuel vehicles will greatly reduce our environmental impact, as well as saving customers money.

“As far as we’re concerned, this is the right thing to do as a company and for the environment, as we move to make our business as sustainable and as efficient as possible in the years ahead.”

Alongside the pledge to use alternative fuel vehicles, Severn Trent said it is on track to self-generate the equivalent of half of the energy it uses by 2020.

The company uses a combination of anaerobic digestion, solar power, small-scale hydro and wind turbines across its estate.

Garfield said: “Generating green power is a key priority for us, and we’re looking forward to not only producing power for our treatment works but also for some of our vehicle fleet.”

Severn Trent recently completed its second food waste anaerobic digestion facility in Worcester and is currently building another, similar facility in Derby.

Both sites take contaminated food waste and turn it into renewable gas which will contribute towards its 2020 target.