"USPS Could Deliver America the Electric Car"

"Government researchers have confirmed the ideal testing ground for electric cars: the U.S. Postal Service. Now all they have to do is find the money to pay for it.

The Postal Service is $7 billion in the hole for fiscal year 2009 and simply can't free up substantial cash for an EV trial. The most sensible solution is for the Department of Energy to provide capital costs of $138 million to support an initial launch of 3,000 cars, the research finds. ...

Some 6,800 boxy delivery vans in the Postal Service's aging fleet are nearing the end of their service life and must be replaced anyway. Delivery routes are short. Typically, they cover just 18 miles per day – a distance that current battery technology can easily meet. And the vehicles won't tax the national grid. In fact, they could even improve it, with the batteries acting as grid regulators."

Stacy Feldman reports for SolveClimate September 7, 2009.