{"id":196176,"date":"2025-10-13T03:02:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T03:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/196176\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T03:02:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T03:02:12","slug":"powering-the-future-of-local-cargo-delivery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/196176\/","title":{"rendered":"Powering the Future of Local Cargo Delivery"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new kind of delivery van is hitting Nevada County\u2019s roads. Running routes between Grass Valley and Auburn five days a week, it moves goods for local businesses quietly, efficiently, and without a single puff of pollution.<\/p>\n

When you spot them at a stoplight, you won\u2019t see a tailpipe nor hear the high-acceleration motors on takeoff. That\u2019s because it\u2019s a state-of-the-art electric cargo van, owned and operated by Cedar Renewable Services, LLC (Cedar R.S.), a Nevada County\u2013based business led by founder Cedar Amodeo. The Chevrolet BrightDrop 600 is an all-electric commercial cargo van that signals a shift in how local deliveries can be done \u2014 cleaner, cheaper, and better for the community.<\/p>\n

From Wildfire Defense to Electric Delivery<\/p>\n

Amodeo, a Nevada County native, earned a degree in Outdoor Adventure Leadership with a minor in Business before returning home to volunteer with local nonprofits. He serves as treasurer for energy efficiency nonprofit Sierra Energy Reimagined and enrolled in the Forestry Entrepreneurship course at Sierra Commons, Nevada County\u2019s small-business incubator.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I got the electric van, Robert Trent and Sierra Commons were instrumental in getting my all-electric-tool forestry business off the ground,\u201d says Amodeo, \u201cI founded the business in July 2024 and started my first contract in reforestation by collecting fertile pinecones with Sierra Cone.\u201d<\/p>\n

With electric tools already in hand, the next dream was an electric van\u2014one that could even charge tools on the go. \u201cWhen I talked to a Chevrolet Commercial Fleet dealer in Los Angeles, they told me I was in the right place at the right time,\u201d Amodeo recalls. California\u2019s clean freight voucher program was still open, offering support for small businesses looking to adopt zero-emission commercial vehicles.<\/p>\n

\"Cedar<\/a><\/p>\n

This begged the question: could they be innovative enough to find the overlap between work-van and freight van? Amodeo applied for the grant immediately. After nearly a year of hopes, prayers, and steady follow-up with the application, they were rewarded with a satisfying acceptance call. The result: a cutting-edge BrightDrop 600 van with 600 cubic feet of cargo space, a one-ton payload, all-wheel drive, a roll-up rear door, driver-assist safety features, and more than 270 miles of range.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible driving experience,\u201d says Amodeo. \u201cHonestly, it\u2019s hard to clock out at the end of a route.\u201d<\/p>\n

Delivering Trust<\/p>\n

The first delivery opportunity came from BriarPatch Food Co-op, which needed prepared foods transported daily between its Grass Valley and Auburn stores. At the time, BriarPatch was weighing the costs of buying, insuring, and staffing their own delivery van. Amodeo, along with business partner Joseph Padilla, pitched a cost-effective round-trip solution. The co-op embraced the proposal.<\/p>\n

Chris Maher, General Manager of BriarPatch, shares: \u201cWorking with Cedar has been exceptional. By taking on our food delivery needs with professionalism and consistency, he\u2019s saved us from the significant cost and administrative work of managing our own delivery vehicle and staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

On October 1, 2025, Cedar R.S. and BriarPatch marked the completion of a successful six-month pilot and signed a renewed agreement with the vision of long-term partnership.<\/p>\n

The EV Advantage<\/p>\n

Cedar R.S. has closely tracked costs compared to similar gas-powered vans. The result: operating expenses are about 30% lower.<\/p>\n

With guidance from local renewable energy leader Martin Webb, the company developed a cost-savvy business development strategy that will soon be able to quantify emissions savings for clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith PG&E now providing entirely emissions-free electricity to our grid, I can confidently say our charging source is cleaner than ever,\u201d says Amodeo. \u201cOur next goal is to switch to Pioneer Community Energy\u2019s Green 100 Plan, enabling us to charge with even more renewable energy. Even if emissions aren\u2019t a client\u2019s priority, we\u2019re simply more affordable than gas delivery. The climate benefit is just icing on the cake.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Bright Future for Local Delivery<\/p>\n

With its flagship van now in service, Cedar R.S. is actively adding new clients while capacity remains. The company focuses on businesses and nonprofits with multiple locations or high delivery needs, such as grocery stores, farms and food producers, energy and construction contractors, government offices, community organizations, and local shops.<\/p>\n

\u201cDepending on time and distance, we charge as low as $50 per trip,\u201d Amodeo explains. \u201cEach situation is unique, but in most cases we\u2019re significantly more affordable than operating a traditional gas delivery van. More importantly, we\u2019re building a better future for Nevada County. Give us a honk and a wave when you see us on the road!\u201d<\/p>\n

They encourage anyone interested in deliveries to reach out via their website www.cedarrenewable.com<\/a>, their Facebook Page under \u201cCedar Renewable Services, LLC\u201d, email cedar@cedarrenewable.com<\/a> or simply give them a call at (530) 460-4565.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new kind of delivery van is hitting Nevada County\u2019s roads. Running routes between Grass Valley and Auburn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196177,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[84,4203,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-196176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entrepreneurship","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-entrepreneurship","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}