Sunday, November 24, 1991 -— B.C. HYDRO’S George McRae with the G-Van electric vehicie will be tested over a three-year period. The van has a General Motors Vandura body and chassis incorporating a Brit- ish-made electric propulsion systc::n. which . . 4 *p & NEWS phoio Mike Wakefield B.C. Hydro testing G-Van IT HAS no exhaust system 7: and it hums as it negotiates urban streets, General Motors production model electric G-Van has been on the ‘yoad as part of the B.C. Hydro. vehicle fleet for about two months now. : Hydro employees have been us- ing it’ daily in the ‘Vancouver- Burnaby area. _. The utility company is commit- ted. to a five-year program to . Feduce. emissions from the hun- dreds of vehicles it operates in its . Corporate fleet. The G-Van electric vehicle wil! be tested for a three-year period by B.C. Hydro. '- The van, really a General Moters Yandura body and’ chassis incorporating a British-made elec- tric propulsion ‘system, has a top speed of 80 km/h anda fully- charged driving range cf 80 to 95 kilemetres. ‘It was manufactured by Vehma Interustional, a subsidiary of Ca- nadian auto parts - manufacturer Magna International. “The $72,000 van uses 36 six-volt lead-acid batteries. The battery bank ‘weighs about 2,600 pounds and’ takes eight hours to fully. charge at 240 volts. It holds the energy equivalent of four litres of gas. -The estimated cost of electrical energy: for the van is about five cents per kilometre. ' G-Van acceleration is 0-50 ki/h in 13 seconds fiat. It is a slow, heavy, emission-free vehicle. ‘How: have Hydro employees taken to the vehicle? Said’ George McCrae, a North | ANNE & BRIAN PARKER y Wher we fist your property, we go beyond the nonnai boundaries } to find 2 purchaser. Your buyer may i bein Toronto or Edmonton or ? ? ?. Woe know hew to raach them! s Want to know more? PHONE 623-5116 (24 hrs.) : ’ 925-2427(Res.) Sutton Group-Sentinel Realty Michael ‘HIGH TECH Vancouver resident and B.C. Hydro system maintenance man- ager, ‘“Many people are surprised that it’s very friendly and easy to operate. And then there is the realization that when you operate it, it’s quite different. It doesn’t have the same acceleration, the motor has less power and it doesn’t have the range. It’s a dif- ferent vehicle for a different niche — good in a fleet operation like we're using it, where people are geing for limited distances and returning each day.’’ The van wili eventually be fitted with monitoring and data acquisi- tion equipment. ‘‘We will be able to monitor all driving functions — whether you are going up hill or down hill, how fast you are going, the volt- age, current on motor, all the parameters which will allow us to monitor exactly how much energy is required and under what condi- tions. We'll share that informa- tion with 60 other users (mostly U.S. utilities). The idea is that by sharing that information we get a much better idea of what the next generation of vehicle will need in order to be a better performing vehicle,’’ McCrae said. B.C. Hydro is using the van as a flagship. Realistically a small-car version of an electric vehicle would be a more useful product for the company. Said McCrae, ‘What we're do- ing with this vehicle is showing that B.C. Hydro has an interest in all its activities that impact on the environment.” Accelerated Office Technology Program Enrolling Now! A six-month career training program for Secretarial and Accouating personnel. Acquire communication and computer skills: word processing, spreadsheets and database. OUR GRADUATES ARE IN DEMAND! 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