A big change on the road is going to save
UPMC a lot at the gas pump.
UPMC is replacing 20 diesel-fueled shuttle buses with
vehicles that run on compressed natural gas (CNG) and has installed six new
electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at hospital facilities. By using the CNG
vehicles, UPMC is eliminating the consumption of the equivalent of nearly 1,400
barrels of petroleum annually.
The buses are being purchased with the help of a $500,000
Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection. Thirteen of the vehicles are on the road now and the
other seven will be ready next fall. Natural gas is considered a
cleaner-burning fuel than diesel and gasoline because it emits little to no
mercury, sulfur dioxide or particulates, and also is plentiful, low-cost, and
domestically produced.
Two other Alternative Fuel Incentive Grants to UPMC are
being used for the installation of EV charging stations and are being
administered by the Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities initiative, which is covering
40 percent of the total cost of installation. Currently, there are two Level II
electric vehicle charging stations available at each of the following
facilities:
•UPMC East on the first floor in the visitor’s parking
garage (Route 48 entrance)
•UPMC Presbyterian garage on level D
•UPMC Montefiore garage on the first level of patient
parking off of the main driveway
Additional stations will be added this year at UPMC Shadyside, University Center, Forbes Tower Garage and Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC.
UPMC joins several other local large organizations
participating in the initiative, including Bayer, Giant Eagle, and Eaton. These
EV stations are part of a vehicle charge network that spans all of southwestern
Pennsylvania. Current installations are associated with an expanding regional
network along the 376 corridor from the Pittsburgh International Airport to the
Turnpike.