Westminster will gradually replace its entire 80-strong truck fleet. Many of these vehicles will be housed at the new fully electric depot at Landmann Way, near Bermondsey. The electric vehicles will charge their batteries by drawing electric power from an adjacent energy recovery facility which uses the waste collected from homes and businesses in Westminster.
Westminster’s fleet, operated by its environmental partner Veolia, is said to complete 50 million collections every year.
As part of the deal, Veolia worked to procure, design and operate the new depot and charging infrastructure which will be capable of charging five vehicles simultaneously. Smart charging will allow the partnership to support the National Grid by receiving power at non-peak times to maximise local resources.
The South East London Combined Heat and Power facility will provide the site with 3.3GWh of electricity per year via a private wire to charge the e-fleet.
According to the council, this facility treats residual waste to create 265GWh of electricity, supplying enough electricity to the grid to power 48,000 homes, and generating heat for a local district heating scheme serving over 2,800 homes.
Pascal Hauret, managing director Veolia UK Municipal said: “Using the waste we collect to power the electric fleet is an exciting innovation because that creates a local loop of energy, using local resources to run local services.”
Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, cabinet member for city management and air quality, said: "The trailblazing electrification will deliver an essential service that is quieter for residents, improves air quality in central London and reduces our fleet emissions by 50 per cent, or over 2,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.”
The trucks, built by Dennis Eagle Ltd in Warwick, will be the mainstay of a zero-emission refuse fleet which also includes 90 electric street cleaning vehicles ranging from e-bikes to e-sweepers.