Sault Ste.Marie, Ont., purchases its first electric Zamboni and says there are more to come
CBC
The city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., just purchased its first electric Zamboni, and it plans to eventually replace its entire gas-powered fleet.
The city recently opened a twin-pad arena in the west end and needed a new ice resurfacer to go with it.
"We're trying to introduce green elements into the facility and we decided to move forward, with council's approval, on an electric ice resurfacer," said Brett Lamming, the city's director of community services.
Lamming said the city purchased a Zamboni 552AC with a lithium ion battery that charges in 30 minutes.
The Zamboni is the city's first electric vehicle – it has plans to purchase an electric bus soon – and Lamming said it will reduce the city's carbon emissions by more than 13 tonnes per year.
The unit cost about $166,000 to purchase, compared to about $110,000 for a gas-power ice resurfacer, but Lamming said it has lower maintenance costs, at least until it needs a new battery.
"We've only had it for a few days now," he said.
"We haven't heard anything negative right now. It's just something new to get used to."
Sault Ste. Marie isn't the first city in northeastern Ontario to get an electric ice resurfacer.
The city of Timmins bought one in 2018 (it was delivered in 2019) and a second one in 2020.
Fred Salvador, the city's facilities and parks supervisor, said one advantage with the electric machines is that they are much more quiet than their gas-powered counterparts.
"It's a fraction of the noise and it's good for staff too, who are flooding every hour," he said.
"That's good for their hearing."
Charging the two electric ice resurfacers is also cheaper than using natural gas for their other units, he said.
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