Evaluating Electric Utility Vehicles for Orchard Operations

This project will evaluate the operational performance, energy use, and total cost of ownership of an electric utility task vehicle compared with a diesel utility vehicle in real-world apple orchard conditions. The study will compare a Polaris Ranger Kinetic electric UTV with a Kubota RTV X900 diesel utility vehicle during routine orchard activities at the WSU Sunrise Research Orchard. Rather than testing a single repeated task, the project will document representative day-to-day use across common orchard operations to reflect real-world variability. Metrics will include task duration, distance per task, runtime per charge or tank, energy or fuel use, cost per mile, cost per task, annual operating cost, charging and refueling frequency, and operational efficiency across different task types. The WSU Energy Program will partner on total cost of ownership analysis, and the project is expected to result in a technical report.