Exelon Transportation

Exelon’s Transportation

Exelon’s Biodiesel and Hybrid Vehicle Program

Exelon continues to be a major voluntary user of B20 biodiesel blended product, using it as the main source of fuel for more than 2,500 of the company's  vehicles—or 65 percent of its fleet. B20 biodiesel consists of 80 percent diesel fuel and 20 percent soybean oil. Exelon uses in excess of 2 million gallons per year. For 2004, this consumption level reduced particulate emissions by more than 340 tons and displaced the need to purchase more than 400,000 gallons of petroleum-based diesel. In 2005, Exelon purchased 50 Ford Escape Hybrids, the first production hybrid sport-utility vehicle (SUV).  These now comprise about 25 percent of the company’s overall SUV fleet. The combination gasoline and electric Ford Escape operates in electric-only mode when the vehicles travel at low speeds or idle at a stop. As a result, the hybrid Escapes provide an estimated 50 percent improvement in city/highway fuel economy when compared to the conventional Escape.  Exelon expects to procure 50 hybrid SUVs and 10 compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles each year and to use biodiesel for all diesel vehicles by the end of 2006.

In 2004, Exelon also joined the Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF), a project of the U.S. Army and WestStart. The forum coordinated specifications and a request for proposal (RFP) for the prototype of a medium-duty hybrid utility truck. Exelon’s fleet-supply team had the opportunity to drive the prototype, named the Validator, in January 2005.  In 2005, Exelon procured two of these preproduction hybrid trucks from International Truck and Engine Corporation, one each for PECO and ComEd operations. The combination diesel and electric powered trucks are expected to improve fuel economy up to 60 percent compared to diesel-only fueled trucks. The new hybrid truck will also allow the operator to shut off the diesel engine and operate the bucket on an electric motor for up to two hours before the engine has to come back on to briefly charge the battery. As a result, considerably less fuel is burned and noise is reduced. About two-thirds of the fuel savings result from the engine being shut off at the work site. Finally, the truck offers specific benefits for the utility business, as it is a source of 25 kilowatts (kW) of exportable power that can be supplied to specific customer locations that have lost power, thereby introducing the possibility of reducing the Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI).

Donated CNG station for airport transit buses

Partnering with the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Program (GPCCP), PECO helped move the Philadelphia International Airport (PIA) one step closer toward procurement of compressed natural gas (CNG) transit buses. A recent study, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through a GPCCP grant, determined that significant reductions in emissions are possible through adoption of alternative fuel vehicles, most notably CNG fueled vehicles.

In 2004, the decision was made by PECO to close the CNG station located at the King of Prussia service area on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Declining patronage and increasing operations and maintenance (O&M) expenses were the main drivers. Since the major expense in decommissioning the station was removal and site restoration, PECO offered the station to GPCCP and PIA in hopes that it could be re-commissioned to support an anticipated procurement of CNG transit buses.

In November, the station was moved from the turnpike service area to a temporary location at PIA, awaiting installation and commissioning at the airport in mid-2005. This move eliminated the O&M expense and demonstrated PECO’s environmental commitment by facilitating future use of this asset in a manner certain to improve air quality at the airport. In addition, PECO made a $20,000 cash gift to GPCCP for funding the relocation and site restoration. 

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