New York tests battery-powered food carts to cut noise and pollution

New York is testing whether food carts can replace petrol generators with rechargeable batteries to reduce noise, exhaust fumes and climate-warming emissions.

William Arevalo, a 59-year-old vendor in Queens, is one of 10 street vendors taking part in the city pilot. His family has run its food truck for more than 20 years, selling items including hot dogs, empanadas and fried shrimp. He said the battery system has removed generator noise while keeping the cart’s equipment running.

Most of New York’s 20,500 licensed food carts use generators to power equipment such as stoves, freezers and ventilators. The city council says converting all of them to electric power would be equivalent to taking about 30,000 cars off the road annually. The shift still faces cost and infrastructure challenges.

Arevalo said smoke from the old generator used to enter the truck and that the noise sometimes made it hard to hear customers. He also said the batteries have been more reliable during hot weather than fuel generators that can overheat.

The six-month pilot began in July. The system on Arevalo’s cart includes an inverter holding up to six batteries, which he said can power the cart if changed about every five hours. PopWheels, a New York startup, supplies and charges the batteries at nearby fire-resistant lockers. The batteries are the same type used in many electric bicycles.

Earlier efforts had limits. In 2013, some Manhattan street carts were connected to the power grid, reducing emissions and noise, but the system could not be scaled up. A separate battery pilot by the Street Vendor Project also faced charging infrastructure problems.

City officials hope the latest trial can support a subscription model in which vendors pay to use batteries and charging stations. Isabela Brown, senior policy adviser at the mayor’s climate office, said the city expects the system to be cost competitive with what vendors now pay for gas. She said vendors’ main cost would be installing an inverter system and that the city is looking at financing options, including loans.

Inverter systems can cost thousands of dollars, depending on size. Supporters say running costs may be lower over time.