The United States Postal Service is being dragged kicking and screaming into an electrical automobile future. It solely took a mass public outcry, lawsuits type 16 totally different states, and an impassioned plea from the president himself to get them there.

Though the USPS beforehand selected a 90%/10% break up of gasoline and electrical powered autos to energy its new fleet, the company turned on a dime this week, announcing it could spend practically $10 billion to accumulate 66,000 electrical EV vehicles by 2028. That’s greater than half of the overall 106,000 autos it deliberate to accumulate throughout that point.

While it’s not the 100% EV transformation some had been hoping for, it’s nonetheless far more than the pathetic 10% eye-roll the USPS was making an attempt to get away with. The company additionally stated new automobile purchases after 2026 could be “100% electric,” although that dedication may finally rely on who’s sitting within the oval workplace come 2024.

In the close to time period, the USPS stated it plans to accumulate a minimal of 60,000 new “next generation delivery vehicles,” (NGDV) 75% of which will likely be battery powered electrical. The company will complement these NGDVs by buying an extra 21,000 battery-powered electrical industrial autos.

The Postal service’s general $9.6 billion funding will embody $3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act handed earlier this yr to assist construct the autos and set up trendy charging infrastructure at USPS amenities. In an announcement, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who beforehand stated the company couldn’t afford heavy-handed EV investments, credited these further congressional funds for the change.

“The $3 billion provided by Congress has significantly reduced the risk associated with accelerating the implementation of a nationwide infrastructure necessary to electrify our delivery fleet,” DeJoy stated. “While most of the electric vehicle funding will continue to come from Postal Service revenues, we are grateful for the confidence that Congress and the Administration have placed in us to build and acquire what has the potential to become the largest electric vehicle fleet in the nation.”

That realignment may make a significant environmental distinction. An environmental impact statement performed by the USPS final yr estimated that shifting over to an all electrical fleet may forestall an estimated 537,415 metric tons of carbon dioxide from coming into the environment. That’s roughly equal to virtually 9 million trees rising for 10 years. Transitioning to an all-electric fleet would additionally forestall virtually 1 million tons of dangerous nitrogen oxides from coming into the air yearly, and 11,000 tons of carbon monoxide, in accordance with the identical assertion.

The USPS, which delivers packages to roughly 163 million addresses six days per week accounts for essentially the most autos within the federal governments’ fleet. Electrifying these mail vehicles would get the U.S. one step nearer to reaching the Biden Administration’s goal of getting all federal companies buy 100% zero-emission autos for the federal fleet by 2035.

“The U.S. Postal Service plan sets the pace for other leading public and private sector fleets,” Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory stated in an announcement. “It is clear that the future of transportation is electric—and that future is here.”

Senior Biden advisor John Podesta, who labored with the USPS to hit the brand new EV targets, stated the plan, “places USPS at the forefront of the clean transportation revolution.”

With the announcement the postal service will attempt to gloss over the lower than enthusiastic reception of its new, gas-powered design launched final yr, which the EPA stated would solely obtain a awful 8.6 mpg. That’s a measly .4 mpg enchancment from the postal service’s previous clunkers. It additionally appears to be like like a sick mutant bug, however not everybody holds that opinion.

Though the USPS’ pivot in direction of extra EVs will come as a welcome change for many environmentalists, it’s price maintaining in thoughts the so-called financial constraints that led the company right here within the first place. The price to transition the USPS’s total fleet would reportedly come out to round $3.3 billion greater than the company’s unique 90%/10% break up. That may appears like quite a bit till you contemplate Congress simply final week gave final approval for a $858 billion army coverage.