Q&A
DSNY's transition to renewable diesel for non-electric vehicles
1:07:41
·
3 min
Deputy Commissioner Goodman explains DSNY's transition to renewable diesel for vehicles that cannot be electrified, particularly heavy-duty collection trucks.
- DSNY has completed a transition to 100% renewable diesel for non-electric vehicles
- The department is the largest user of renewable diesel among all city agencies
- Renewable diesel is better for the environment and produces less odor in garages
UNKNOWN
1:07:41
out.
Shaun Abreu
1:07:42
So so we're not transitioning electrification right now because of limitations.
Joshua Goodman
1:07:46
That's correct.
1:07:46
However, in the meantime, we did complete a transition to 100% renewable diesel.
1:07:56
Using diesel, which, you know, is is is not produced in the traditional way, but is made from renewable sources.
1:08:06
And we are the largest this department of sanitation is the largest user of renewable diesel of all city agencies.
1:08:12
It's better for the environment.
1:08:14
It's actually also substantially better for the sanitation workers, doesn't smell nearly as bad in the garages.
Shaun Abreu
1:08:18
Why do you think that there's no market for these electrifying fleet electrifying fleets?
1:08:22
I mean, that just surprises me.
Joshua Goodman
1:08:24
It's a it's a niche use case.
1:08:26
There are very few places that need a fully electric £65,000 collection truck that can also plows snow because no.
1:08:38
New York is is sort of It's unique in so many ways.
1:08:41
But one of them is our our the combination of geography and density.
1:08:45
Right?
1:08:45
We're in a place that gets snow, and we have a finite amount of storage space for our fleet.
1:08:52
In Toronto, for example, they can have a separate snow plow fleet that just kinda sits there 6 months out of the year.
1:09:00
Because space is not as expensive as it is here.
1:09:02
There's places to put it.
1:09:04
We don't have a space for another 25100 trucks in New York City.
1:09:08
So it has to be a truck we already have.
Shaun Abreu
1:09:10
Unless it was actually placed in real time with the existing truck.
Joshua Goodman
1:09:13
But visit where would it physically be?
1:09:15
That's what I mean.
1:09:16
Like, when it's not in use.
1:09:17
If we had a fleet of 25100 heavy duty trucks that were only used for the 4 to 5 months that it might snow, where would we physically keep them?
1:09:26
The collection truck is already here and it's already in every neighborhood.
1:09:31
Right?
1:09:31
Even if we had like a big depot somewhere in New Jersey, you know, and then all of a sudden there's a freak snowstorm and they can't get over through the tunnel.
1:09:38
Right?
1:09:38
We had this is a model that's worked for us for the quick reopening after a snowstorm, but it means that it has to be a specific kind of heavy duty truck.
1:09:47
And I know like in Miami, their collection trucks are also used for storm debris removal when they get hurricanes.
1:09:53
But it's still a different thing than the dual use that we have around snow removal where these trucks always carry a lot of weight.
1:10:01
They pick up, you know, 10, 12 tons of trash.
1:10:05
But pushing that snow for miles and miles and miles, that's a whole different drain on the battery.
1:10:12
We hope the technology gets there.
1:10:14
It should be great.
Shaun Abreu
1:10:14
If if a market existed, this is a hypothetical.
1:10:18
If a market existed, would storage be a limitation?
Joshua Goodman
1:10:21
Storage would be a limitation in some of our facilities, and we've looked at this before.
1:10:26
You're talking about not just a fleet upgrade, but a substantial upgrade to many of our facilities.
1:10:33
You know, there are some sanitation garages that are coming up on a hundred years old.
1:10:37
And they were not built to process that kind of electrical load.
1:10:43
Obviously, any kind of problem like that is theoretically solvable, but that pushes it the process of fully electrifying the heavy duty DSNY fleet, that pushes it from a multimillion dollar fleet upgrade to a multibillion dollar facilities upgrade.
Shaun Abreu
1:10:58
So storage is a limitation,
Joshua Goodman
1:11:01
I would say so.
1:11:01
Okay.
