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,” Hein 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.
