WASHINGTON – President Obama has highlighted Ulster County’s
accomplishments in the field of sustainable energy.
The President noted the county has committed to reducing greenhouse gas
emissions from county government operations 25 percent by 2025 and in
order to do that, it is electrifying its fleet while simultaneously supporting
the deployment of electric vehicles.
County Executive Michael Hein, whose administration has launched the effort,
said it is all about the environment and the county’s residents.
“Ulster County is the most environmentally responsible in the State
of New York. We are the only one that is net carbon neutral and 100 percent
of our electricity comes from renewable resources,” he said. “Now
being recognized by the White House for expanding our electric car charging
stations, our green fleet policy and all the work we have done to be able
to make sure that alternative fuel vehicles can thrive here in Ulster
County is a huge boon for Ulster County.”
To accommodate electric vehicles, the county has installed electric charging
stations, initially for its own fleet, but those charges have been growing
by commercial enterprises as well leading to support for tourists and
employees who use the charging stations.
In 2015, the county adopted a green fleet policy requiring five percent
of the fleet be alternative fuel vehicles by 2020. The county is expected
to meet that goal in 2017. After 2020, the county commits to purchase
20 percent of new fleet vehicles on an annual basis as alternative fuel
vehicles.
