LAS VEGAS -- Las Vegas city officials said they have purchased a Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car as part of a program to test new environmentally friendly vehicles for use in the city’s fleet. 

The car is one of four electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that the city will purchase by the end of the first quarter of 2012. 

The Volt was funded through a Department of Energy grant as well as the city’s own Green Building Special Revenue Fund, which receives revenue through utility rebates, energy savings and incremental increases in franchise fees.
The city is also installing public-access electric vehicle charging stations. 

“We know that electric cars are the wave of the future, so as we’re building new facilities, we’re installing charging stations so drivers can fill the batteries of their car while doing business or recreating at a city facility,” said Sustainability Officer Tom Perrigo. 

More than 90 percent of the city’s fleet of more than 1,150 vehicles run on alternative fuels such as electricity, hydrogen, compressed natural gas, biodiesel and hybrid technology. In 2007, Las Vegas was the winner in the transportation category at the World Leadership Awards in London, England.

In 2002, a hydrogen energy station was built and put into operation at the city’s Northwest Service Center.