Leach & Co. is a privately owned waste management and contracting company. It operates Wellington’s Southern Landfill for Wellington City Council.
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The company’s biggest energy source and emissions factor is diesel. To align with the council’s sustainability goals, reducing diesel use from their off-road equipment was a clear target.
In , the company bought its first electric off-road vehicle – a 20-tonne loader. A year on, the team couldn’t be happier with its performance. With the introduction of the new electric loader, the business has cut around 25,000 litres of diesel per year from its operations.
This case study covers how they did it, how their costs stack up, and what they’ve learned along the way.
Leach & Co. found that the new XC968EV exceeded its performance expectations and is significantly more powerful, faster and more responsive than their old diesel equivalent.
CEO Eric Souchon said that due to the new loader’s high responsiveness and speed the company ended up reducing its performance settings to help the drivers adjust to operating it.
Leach & Co.’s drivers were impressed by the reduction in noise and vibrations from the operation of the vehicle compared to their old diesel model.
This comfort, paired with the greater responsiveness, means that the drivers are more productive during their shifts, and less fatigued at the end of the day.
Given the significantly quieter operation of the electric loader, the company added reversing alerts and additional cameras for safety.
They have also changed the tyres to solid rubber to reduce the high risk of punctures in a landfill environment, and have upgraded the air-conditioning filtration system to better filter out landfill contaminants.
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When considering an electric loader, Leach & Co. initially had concern around availability of skilled workers to service electric off-road equipment in the area, but had no issue finding accredited suppliers to smooth out some initial teething issues.
Maintenance costs have also proved to be cheaper – servicing takes just one and half hours compared to half a day for the previous diesel machine.
With a depot just 1km away from the main landfill site, setting up access to a charger and power supply was relatively easy for Leach & Co. For more remote sites, access to adequate electricity infrastructure can pose a significant challenge.
Nevertheless, Leach & Co. had to carefully consider the site’s electricity capacity to ensure sufficient supply was available. They opted to install a 90kW charger, which is the most the site could take without extra electricity supply capacity.
Leach & Co. recommends talking to your electricity supplier early in the process and allowing sufficient time for charger installation in your project plan.
Leach & Co. had to consider the practicalities around charging times to ensure maximum productivity. The 90kW charger can fully charge the loader in 4 hours, to last a full 8-hour shift. The charger is fast enough to give a substantial top-up charge during drivers’ breaks if needed.
The charger has two charge points, and sufficient capacity to fully charge two machines overnight, which gives Leach & Co. scope to expand their electric fleet.
Over time, the team has developed techniques to use the loader more efficiently. Their policy is to run the battery down to a minimum of 30% before recharging – which helps to prolong the battery life.
Leach & Co. is considering further electrification options. Following the results of the XC968EV, Leach & Co. is now looking to get a second electric machine (a 10-tonne, battery-electric loader) at the end of this year.
With the charger already installed with capacity to charge two machines, no additional capital is required to charge the new machine, helping to make the total cost of ownership more favourable for future electrification of the company’s fleet.
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