Email Peter Sur at psur@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
By PETER SUR
Tribune-Herald staff writer
Hawaii County is taking the plunge into electric and plug-in hybrid cars.
The county Department of Research and Development this week issued a solicitation for bids for a pilot program that would have the cars charged at the West Hawaii Civic Center in Kona. If successful, administrators plan to expand the use of the vehicles to Hilo.
Research and Development Director Randy Kurohara said Tuesday that the initial plan was to buy somewhere between four to six of the vehicles, which would be either electric, plug-in hybrid or some combination of the two.
The bids will be opened March 12 in Hilo.
Kurohara said this was part of a broader push by the Billy Kenoi administration to invest in the vehicles and “being a leader by example.”
This is part of the larger effort “to look at how we can be more efficient, how we can save money on fuel,” Kurohara said.
The West Hawaii Civic Center has three electric vehicle chargers, each of which can charge two vehicles.
Then-mayor Harry Kim made the initial jump into hybrid vehicles with a $30,668 Ford Escape in 2007. In the following year the county increased its fleet of hybrids to seven, with a total of three Ford Escapes and four Honda Civics.
But even the most fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle is still 100 percent dependent on gasoline, unless plug-in options are available. The type of vehicle the county is contemplating is relatively new to the market and prices are still high compared to regular gas-powered vehicles, but high gas prices are making hybrid plug-ins and electric vehicles more attractive.
Whatever vehicle the county purchases will depend on a number of factors. The 2012 Chevrolet Volt is rated the most fuel-efficient car on the market, with 93 to 95 miles per gallon, but at a price of $39,145.
A plug-in Toyota Prius costs $32,000; an all-electric Nissan Leaf starts at $35,200.
That sounds steep, but it will become more affordable after state and federal credits are applied.
“We really don’t know (what the cost will be) because there’s different numbers that came to us,” Kurohara said.
Kurohara isn’t sure who would initially be able to use the vehicles, but he said they might be rotated among several departments at first. He couldn’t say whether they would be assigned to any elected officials.
Email Peter Sur at psur@hawaiitribune-herald.com.