Electric all-terrain vehicle
In October 2021 the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) team had the opportunity to demo an electric all-terrain vehicle to help ascertain whether the vehicle would be suitable for conducting some of the tasks the ranger team need to conduct around the AONB. Currently any task that requires access to remote parts of the AONB, moving equipment or conducting litter picks needs a diesel powered 4x4 pickup to support the rangers in their role, but with our aspirations for reducing carbon emissions and achieving Net Zero we’re eager to explore viable alternatives.
Utility task vehicles (UTV’s), also commonly referred to as ‘side by sides’ are small all-terrain vehicles capable of carrying two crew and a small load of tools, equipment or resources. Typically, these vehicles are powered by diesel or petrol engines, but as with road going vehicles the move toward ultra-low emissions and electric vehicles is quickly picking up pace.
The benefits of an electric UTV (e-UTV) over a petrol or diesel include lower noise, no air pollution from the vehicle when in use, less disturbance to wildlife and outdoor users and the ability for the vehicle to be powered from 100% renewable energy greatly reducing the CO2 emissions associated with the vehicles use. The down side to an electric vehicle is the speed of re charging and the inability to extend the vehicles range by simply carrying a jerry can of fuel to top up the tank, as well as the issues around battery manufacture and recycling.
In order to better assess whether an e-UTV was a suitable addition to the ranger fleet we asked Clwyd Agri to bring a vehicle to Loggerheads Country Park for us to see what the real world range and capabilities were. We took the demo vehicle on two typical working trips that our rangers currently have to use a diesel 4x4 to complete; a litter picking trip up to the Jubilee Tower on Moel Famau, and a trip to the conservation grazing animals to check on their welfare and enclosure through the woodland on the eastern flanks of Moel Famau.
The vehicle Clwyd Agri brought out to us to demo was a Polaris Ranger Ev, on load from its owners Brighter Green Engineering. The vehicle is fitted with the standard lead-acid batteries, although a lithium ion battery upgrade is available to reduce weight, extend the range and improve re charging performance.
Our rangers were incredibly impressed with the vehicles capability and range, with it easily completing a trip to the summit of Moel Famau and back to the top carpark on just 10% of the battery range, while the optional four-wheel drive mode proved that the vehicle was more than capable of making the rough and arduous journey to the summit even with two crew and a load of tools.
We are now in the process of identifying suitable vehicles for procurement with the hope that the addition of an e-UTV to our ranger team vehicle fleet will mean that our diesel vehicles will be relied upon less for the short journeys where they perform worst in terms of particulate emissions, and will ultimately reduce our reliance on CO2 heavy fossil fuel vehicles.
