Olszewski Issues Order to Begin Electrifying County Vehicles

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski today announced an Executive Order requiring all new and replacement passenger vehicles for the Baltimore County’s fleet to be hybrid or electric vehicles as Baltimore County continues efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions.

“We recognize our obligation to a cleaner, greener and more sustainable Baltimore County for this and future generations, which is why I’m committed to ensuring Baltimore County remains a statewide sustainability leader,” Olszewski said. “In setting this new goal, Baltimore County will lead by example and increase the number electric vehicles on our roads and support long-term efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and combat climate change.”

Baltimore County has completed a Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Climate Action Plan to guide the County’s efforts to reduce emissions and fossil fuel consumption across three broad categories of County operations: Buildings and Energy, Transportation, and Waste.

According to these analyses, Baltimore County government’s on-road fleet of vehicles and equipment represent roughly 20 percent of the enterprise-wide greenhouse gas emissions.

Under Olszewski’s Executive Order, Baltimore County will:

· Convert at least 10 percent of the County government’s passenger fleet to electric vehicles by 2030;

· Install the charging infrastructure necessary to support these vehicles; and

· Replace remaining passenger vehicles with fuel-efficient hybrid models.

Since taking office, the Olszewski administration has made sustainability and expanding renewable energy a key priority.

In 2019, Olszewski appointed Baltimore County's first Chief Sustainability Officer to lead the development of a countywide Climate Action Plan, covering topics such as reduced energy consumption, promotion of green infrastructure and sustainable growth policy. Olszewski also convened a Youth Climate Working Group to ensure youth voices and recommendations are included in the County's Climate Action Plan and other sustainability efforts.

In 2020, the Olszewski administration launched an innovative landfill gas-to-energy system that captures methane gas and converts it to renewable energy, which is expected to offset at least 11 percent of the County's total energy consumption, and is putting the County back on track to meet renewable energy goals. At Olszewski’s direction, the Department of Public Works re-started Baltimore County’s glass recycling program, which had been sidelined since 2013.

In 2021, the Olszewski administration set an aggressive new goal to generate or displace the equivalent of 100 percent of Baltimore County’s electric demand with renewable energy sources by 2026 after announcing plans to install solar panel arrays at two closed County landfills, which are expected to generate the equivalent of 35 percent of the electricity demand.

Earlier this year, Olszewski also issued an Executive Order requiring all newly constructed County facilities or major renovations to be completed to the U.S. Green Building Council’s energy efficient Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standard or higher. In March 2021, Olszewski also announced partnered with BGE to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on public sites across Baltimore County.