Right, Breitbart, Electric Snow Plows Were Always a Bad Idea for New York

A recent article at Breitbart, “New York Gives Up on Electric Snow Plows: ‘Insufficient for the Demands of Winter’,” describes the difficulties that New York City faced in trying to use electric garbage trucks as snow plows in winter. That New York City is finding it difficult to maintain and consistently operate a fleet of electric garbage trucks doubling as snow plows is unsurprising since EVs often struggle in cold conditions as well as conditions that place extra burden on them, like hauling heavy weight and pushing heavy snow. EV’s inadequacies under such conditions have been reported frequently.

Breitbart reports that three years ago, the New York City Department of Sanitation bought several electric trucks from Mack to use as garbage and street cleaning trucks, “one of these Mack trucks had been fitted with a snow plow as part of an experiment.”

The move quickly proved to be a failure, the truck had “insufficient power” and “after nearly two hours, the electric plow had to discontinue the route for recharging.”

Note this says nearly two hours. The snow plow didn’t even work for two hours before it needed to be recharged, when it is vitally important for streets to be cleared as fast as possible in inclement weather conditions. In New York, during blizzard conditions city employees work in 12 hour shifts in order to make driving safe for residents.

Breitbart reports that the vice president of Mack Trucks has even explained that “the current technology, considering battery efficiency and their weight, it is not feasible to provide the Department of Sanitation with electric vehicles capable of snow removal.”

As Climate Realism has covered previously, in “Right, The Globe and Mail, Electric Vehicles Do Struggle During Winter,” battery powered vehicles struggle particularly in winter conditions when temperatures are low. Towing can cut an EVs range in half, and pushing heavy snow likewise is an extra burden on the battery. Even electric busses that are not pushing or towing beyond their normal capacity, often fail, as did the first EV public transportation in Juneau, Alaska, where EV buses failed to complete their routes on cold days, because cold temperatures reduced battery life.

Likewise, Tesla was recently fined by the government of South Korea, because they exaggerated the winter range of their vehicles, which in reality drop rapidly as temperatures decline.

Because of these facts, Breitbart says that diesel trucks will likely continue to make up the bulk of the fleet, “notwithstanding the previously outlined plans to phase them out by 2040 even as New York still struggles to keep the streets clear with current equipment.” However, despite all of the failures of the test program, in October 2023 New York City’s government passed a law demanding that its entire fleet transition to zero-emission vehicles by 2035, including police and emergency vehicles, and that all heavy duty vehicles like the fire trucks, garbage trucks, and snow plows, be electric 2038.

If a major snow storm were to knock out electricity for parts of New York, it’s unclear how the city plans to charge the electric trucks, though it’s probably reasonable to assume they would use diesel generators, as many EV charging stations do.

Current battery technology should not be depended on for critical safety and maintenance like snow removal. Less than two hours of operating time before needing a recharge is totally unacceptable, as Breitbart reports, and it is irresponsible, morally unconscionable, and a clear dereliction of duty by New York City’s government to put its residents at risk in this way.