Ann Arbor Adds Hydraulic Hybrid Recycling Trucks
That noisy trash truck that picks up your recycling just got lots greener -- at least, if you live in Ann Arbor.
The city Wednesday unveiled a new hydraulic hybrid recycling truck that will save the city thousands of dollars a year in diesel fuel and truck brake maintenance costs, while sharply curtailing greenhouse gas emissions.
The trucks use a hydraulic hybrid system pioneered by The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Ann Arbor laboratories and commercialized by Cleveland-based Eaton Corp. at its Michigan hybrid truck development centers in Galesburg and Southfield.
The truck's braking energy is used to pressurize hydraulic fluid that's stored in a tank. When the truck takes off from a stop, the energy in that fluid is used to boost low-end torque. Eaton brands the technology Hydraulic Launch Assist.
The four trucks, based on the Peterbilt Model 320 Hybrid with Labrie body, will operate in daily curbside recycling duty.
Eaton's tests show a 17 to 28 percent improvement in fuel economy, three to four times longer brake life -- and the hydraulic hybrids are also much quieter than conventional trash trucks, cutting trash-day noisiness in neighborhoods.
The technology is particularly well suited to heavy duty trucks that do a lot of stop-and-go driving, because of its efficiency and relatively low cost.
The Ypsilanti-based Clean Energy Coalition, a nonprofit organization, won a federal stimulus grant to offset the $40,000-per-truck price differential for the city to buy the hybrid trucks. The CEC is dedicated to expanding the use of clean energy technologies in Michigan. The estimated lifetime savings of the trucks in improved fuel economy and maintenance is just over $70,000.
"There are more options than ever before to help people, businesses and government save money at the pump, reduce our dependence on oil and improve air quality," said Sean Reed, executive director of the CEC. "But it's easier to be a follower than a leader unless there's a catalyst for change. Our job at the CEC is to help create more conservation leaders, and we do that by building public and private alliances and securing resources for them to be a driving force in market transformation. Putting a fuel-saving technology invented right here in Ann Arbor on the road in the city of its birth moves the community closer its sustainability goals and helps establish hydraulic hybrid technology in the marketplace."
In addition to helping Ann Arbor meet its clean energy goals, the CEC is involved in clean energy projects across the state, including:
* Investments in infrastructure, such as the installation of ethanol and compressed natural gas refueling stations
* Developing and hosting workshops on clean technologies
* Auditing both residential and commercial buildings to help measure their energy intensity and develop efficiency and conservation plans
* Providing technical consulting services to 40 municipalities across the state to shepherd more than $10 million of investments in new energy efficiency and renewable energy projects
* Championing the adoption of innovative technologies, ranging from LED street lighting to the advanced hydraulic hybrid system
Founded in 2005, the CEC's clients and partners include the cities of Benton Harbor, Detroit, Flint, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Muskegon Heights, Pontiac and Saginaw, as well as prominent companies and institutions, such as the U.S. Department of Energy and EPA, FedEx Ground and the University of Michigan, among others. More at www.cec-mi.org.
Ann Arbor's goal, set out by Mayor John Hieftje, is to use 30 percent green power in municipal operations by the end of 2010. The city is already at 20 percent, Hieftje said Wednesday.
Ann Arbor's curbside city recycling program is contracted out to Recycle Ann Arbor, a private nonprofit. Recycle Ann Arbor also operates the state's largest recycling station, a construction materials recycling center and a 20,000-square-foot retail store full of gently used home goods and building materials.
Christopher Grundler, deputy director of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environment and Air Quality, praised the city's efforts. He said heavy trucks account for 20 percent of the United States' emissions of greenhouse gas, so improvements will ahve a significant environmental effect.
Vincent Duray, Eaton's hydraulic hybrid engineering manager, noted that Eaton has accumulated 50 million miles of hybrid testing around the world, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 15 tons and saving millions of gallons of fuel. The company has invested $100 million in hybrid R&D, he said. And he said hydraulic hybrids have an advantage in power density over electric hybrids, which is especially important for larger, heavier vehicles. "It's energy for free," he said. "It's not a system that requires a lot of maintenance ... and it's very reliable."
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