Peterborough Paramedics - Fleet GHG Emissions Mitigation Study

The County of Peterborough will assess the feasibility of reducing GHG emissions by at least 20% in the Peterborough Paramedics ambulance fleet. Peterborough Paramedics provides first response services to the residents of Peterborough County and City (a population of over 58,000), operating 15 ambulances from six bases and responding to over 26,000 calls for service annually. The study will asses the feasibility of implementing roof-mounted solar panels on the ambulances to operate on-vehicle systems and to review the possibility of integrating smaller-body ambulance units into the fleet in order to reduce GHG emissions. The on-vehicle solar panels will enable the ambulance vehicle electrical and mechanical systems to operate from solar acquired and stored power which will reduce the need to idle the ambulance when it is on-call and in standby, thereby reducing fuel consumption and GHG emissions. In addition, the implementation of solar to power the vehicle systems will lessen the requirement for electrical charge at base, which will reduce the building electrical usage as well. The implementation of small-body ambulances will directly reduce fuel consumption and GHG emissions, and will also enable quicker response times to calls from patients, particularly in downtown core areas that currently pose issues for larger vehicles.The feasibility study will collect data to quantify the baseline GHG emissions of the ambulance fleet. In order to quantify the GHG reductions that could be achieved relative to the baseline, one 24-hour ambulance vehicle will be solar-outfitted and compared with a standard control vehicle. In addition, a small-body ambulance will be tested and compared with a standard vehicle in order to quantify the GHG emissions that could be reduced. The data will be compiled and compared based on established criteria such as run-time, distance travelled, speed travelled and idle time. The data will be used to measure potential GHG emissions reductions if the changes were implemented fleet-wide. In addition, as part of the study energy meters will be installed at the bases to measure the amount of energy saved by the implementation of solar-fitted vehicles to measure the GHG reductions in their facilities.