Renewables firm Helion just switched its entire commercial fleet to fully electric with 100 VW ID. Buzz Cargo vehicles.
Helion folks are now cruising around Switzerland in one of the largest electric fleets in the country. The switch happened near Solothurn, northeast of Bern, where 100 Helion technicians who previously handed in their gas vans hit the road in the Volkswagen ID. Buzz Cargo vans. Helion will be charging its fleet with solar, making it carbon neutral.
Before it made the switch, Helion set up a pilot team to work out the glitches. Helion has also beefed up its charging stations at its locations and paid for home EV chargers for its staff. The technicians – they call themselves Helionauts (face palm) – won’t need to hit up public charging spots often because their typical driving radius is 100 km (62 miles) and the range of the VW ID. Buzz Cargo is up to 427 km (265 miles).
CEO Noah Heynen says that having a fully electric fleet is a big milestone for Helion in its push for clean energy – it also installs heat pumps, battery storage, and EV chargers, among other things – because the company now truly gets to practice what it preaches.
Helion’s switch to an all-electric fleet will eliminate about 300 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. Heynen pointed out, “Customers benefit from even more sustainable solar systems, as Helion technicians are now all on the road with electric commercial vehicles. This further improves the carbon footprint of our products.”
Read more: VW says ‘most’ 2023, 2024 ID.4s will get full $7,500 EV tax credit
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –ad*