Housing Executive plumbers, painters, electricians and staff will soon be zooming around Northern Ireland in a brand new fleet of 10 electric vans.
It follows investment £400,000 in the new 'green' vehicles as part of their bid to drive down emissions, improve their carbon footprint and improve air quality.
The new Citroen Dispatch XL vans have a range of around 200 miles, so while they will be based in the Belfast, Coleraine and Portadown depots, they will be used all over Northern Ireland.
Read more: Stormont probe scrapped after department to be reviewed cuts cash for watchdog
Stephen Moore, the Housing Executive’s Assistant Director of the Direct Labour Organisation, said: "Electric vehicles are the key technology to decarbonise road transport, a sector that accounts for 16% of global emissions.
"These vehicles will help us in our drive to cut CO2 emissions from our fleet in line with our energy efficiency and sustainability policies.
"These new energy efficient vans have replaced 10 of our old diesel vehicles and we hope to expand this in the future to include reviewing our grounds machinery as well."
David Roe, the Housing Executive’s Fleet Support Operations Manager, added: "Our new vans are quite powerful and very comfortable to drive and there is plenty of space for our tools and equipment.
"All our maintenance depots are equipped with fast charging points which will enable us to cover a wide geographical area.”
The Housing Executive has long been calling for action to reduce emissions from Northern Ireland's homes. Its 2021 Cost of Carbon report estimated local households could save around £700 a year if their homes are adapted to meet modern energy standards.
They say almost 600,000 dwellings across NI must be upgraded if carbon emission reduction targets are to be me but it needs investment of around £9.2billion to adapt older properties to cut 2.2million tonnes of carbon emissions every year and deliver significant savings for families.
The Housing Executive Chair, Nicole Lappin, said: "Our organisation is committed to addressing the impact of climate change and we intend to play our part in sustaining our environment for future generations.
"We have a target of producing net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and plan to do this not only by decarbonising our fleet but also by improving energy efficiency in our organisation, supporting the building of low-carbon homes and decarbonising our housing stock."
For more information visit www.nihe.gov.uk
READ NEXT:
The Earth's Corr: Driving the kids to school does more harm than good
Pop-up cycle lanes in Belfast staying put says Nichola Mallon
The Earth's Corr: Free travel for kids the missing link on public transport
Details on £10m train station for Belfast's York Street set to open in 2023
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
