South Ayrshire's carbon emissions deadline failure could have silver lining
Council members believe they can now wait and see if electric vehicles are superseded by other forms of green energy.
South Ayrshire Council's failure to meet a target date for cutting its vehicle carbon emissions could be a net positive, according to council members.
Kenneth Dalrymple, assistant Director of Housing and Operations, explained how the council would not be able to meet the Scottish Government’s deadline of 2025 for smaller fleets to be Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV).
Councillor Philip Saxton, chair of the Services and Partnerships Performance Panel, raised concerns that investment in electric vehicles and infrastructure could be superseded by alternatives, such as hydrogen.
Mr Dalrymple agreed, suggesting that not meeting the target date could actually provide an opportunity to see whether any alternatives became viable.
He said: “Sometimes we like to be first, but sometimes it is better to wait on other people testing the technology. We can see where things are going further down the line.
“I think we might change from electric going forward. It might be part of the answer but I don’t think it is the full answer. Other types of technology could come in.”
Going electric has challenges
He highlighted the even greater challenge when it comes to larger vehicles as well as the being able to maintain schedules given charging takes considerably longer than simply filling a fuel tank.
He said: “Electric for larger vehicles at this point in time isn’t an option for what we do as we double shift our vehicles.
“We are probably looking at different technology such as hydrogen. That will be a huge capital cost and is something we need to start transitioning to before 2030.”
Mr Dalrymple provided an example where South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership required to renew six of its vehicles.
He explained; “These vehicles are used all day, so they would need 12 electric vehicles.
“That is double the cost.”
Another issue was raised around charging vehicles where employees have had to work from home.
Mr Dalrymple said: “These are practical issues we need to overcome. And we can overcome them, but it might take an extra year or two.”
He also told the panel that officers are looking at the full life cost of the transition.
“People need to be aware of what the cost might be. Funding opportunities for the procurement of new vehicles was reduced last year.”
No penalty for missing deadline
SNP Councillor Chris Cullen asked Mr Dalrymple about the implications of failing to meet the 2025 deadline.
He responded: “There is no penalty as such for not meeting the timescales for 2025.
“It is an aspiration that people signed up to. Some see 2025 as a cut off, others say it means after 2025 we don’t purchase any other vehicles."
The panel agreed the report.