Photo courtesy of Volvo Construction Equipment
Turner Construction Co. is conducting a pilot of the 23-ton EC230 Electric excavator from Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) on a project in the heart of Silicon Valley.
The EC230 Electric is the first medium-size in-house-designed electric excavator in the industry.
“Turner is a great organization for us to partner with to test the capabilities and benefits of a zero-emission machine that is a major advancement in bringing sustainability solutions to our industry,” says Scott Young, acting president of the North America region for Volvo CE. “Both of our companies are industry leaders pushing innovation to build a cleaner world.”
Said Evan Walker, project executive for Turner Construction, says, “We’re really excited to provide operator feedback to equipment manufacturers and help support the low-emission equipment market. This is definitely in alignment with our company values to create a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future for people and the planet.”
The Volvo EC230 Electric excavator is being used by Turner Construction on a light manufacturing reconfiguration project for Applied Materials in the Silicon Valley region of Northern California. The excavator will play a key role in the placement of deep utilities, backfilling, building pad excavation, compaction and material movement on site. The project will be completed by October 2024.
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The challenge of having sufficient power delivered on demand and effectively to the equipment can be a barrier to using electric machines on construction job sites. As part of the EC230 Electric excavator pilot, Sunbelt Rentals is providing a mobile, off-grid energy storage solution.
“A battery energy storage system (BESS) is ideal because the power can be quickly delivered to the machine with ease in remote locations without requiring the machine to move for charging,” says Brent Coffey, director of product line management for Fort Mill, South Carolina-based Sunbelt Rentals.
A 600-kilowatt hour BESS will power a mobile fast charger that is connected to the EC230 Electric. In this scenario, the excavator can be recharged over a lunch break to provide sufficient power for a full day’s work. The BESS is an emission-free and noise-free power solution, making it ideal for portable site charging, supplementing combustion generators, and standby power for job sites.
The Turner Construction project is one of several pilots Volvo CE has scheduled for the EC230 Electric excavator in North America. Another is underway with WM in waste applications at a waste transfer facility on the East Coast.