Britain’s first dual fuel bus will cut emissions by half

Britain's first dual fuel bus

A consortium brought together by low-carbon experts at the University of East Anglia has launched the first bus in the UK to run on clean, biomethane gas. The innovative dual-fuel diesel-biomethane powered bus will reduce pollutant emissions and greenhouse gas emissions by around a half. It is hoped the technology will be rolled out to bus fleets across the country and further afield.

The consortium behind the new bus is led by UEA’s Low Carbon Innovation Centre (LCIC) and includes leading independent bus operator Anglian Bus, bus manufacturer Optare plc, and engine conversion specialists Hardstaff Group of Nottingham.

The dual-fuel vehicle is a standard Optare Solo single-deck diesel midibus from the Anglian Bus fleet. Originally powered entirely by diesel, the Mercedes-Benz engine has been adapted to run for 60-80% of the time on clean, low-carbon biomethane. Biomethane is chemically identical to the methane in natural gas but it is made by bacterial action on biowastes. Biomethane is extracted from landfill sites or from biogas produced in purpose-built anaerobic digestion facilities.

Project leader Dr Bruce Tofield, of UEA’s Low Carbon Innovation Centre, says: ‘Dual-fuel use is a very attractive option. The vehicle can still run on diesel, providing flexibility, but most of the time is running on biomethane gas which is a much cleaner and less polluting fuel.

‘In particular, the cost of conversion of a diesel bus to dual-fuel use is a small fraction of the cost of a new natural gas bus. Conversion to dual-fuel use is potentially a viable option for most if not all diesel buses in the UK and, indeed, across Europe and more widely.’

Funding for the project came partly from an EU-sponsored Civitas programme in which UEA and Anglian Bus were partners with Norwich, Norfolk County Council and cities across Europe. The Civitas Initiative exists to promote cleaner and better transport in Europe’s cities.

LCIC scientists have been monitoring air pollution in Norwich since 2005 as part of the Civitas programme. In Norwich, as in many UK cities, emissions from buses are of particular concern. They noticed how the buses in Malmo in Sweden, a partner city in the Civitas programme, were powered by clean natural gas (methane), resulting in significantly lower levels of harmful emissions. Of special interest was the fact that Malmo was beginning to use biomethane rather than natural gas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as pollutant emissions.

‘This conversion shows just how important EU projects can be in helping us learn from what cities elsewhere have done,’ says Dr Tofield. ‘Now we are going one step further and showing how existing bus fleets can be economically converted to low-carbon, low-emissions running. The potential for reducing traffic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from buses and other fleet vehicles in cities in Britain, Europe, and across the world is very exciting.’

From: http://www.eei-online.com/news.php?key=2370 

East Midlands EXPO 2009 - Greening the Economy

The sessions will take place during the afternoon of the East Midlands EXPO and will be introduced and managed by a facilitator, who will provide feedback and provoke discussion to the audience throughout the afternoon.

Each talk will take place at a table seating around 10-12 delegates, with 4 sessions throughout the afternoon. If a presenter is only taking part in one session then anyone who wants to hear from that presenter will have to make that their priority.

For more information about the ‘15 Minutes of Fame’ sessions please visit the 15 Minutes of Fame webpage. This page includes information on how to reserve your place for the sessions.

Lack of trained engineers threatens low carbon economy

Britain’s failure to encourage more people into engineering is threatening the country’s move to a low carbon economy.

Research released today (7th September) by the National Grid states engineering is ‘not on the radar’ of students, parents or teachers.

As a result it paints a bleak picture for the future claiming we’re heading for a skills shortage, which will have a ‘damaging impact’ on the transition to a low carbon economy.

The Engineering Our Future report, put together after interviews with 1300 young people aged 14-19, and found the engineering sector was perceived as ‘dirty and menial’ and for less academic students.

National Grid chief executive, Steve Holliday, said: “We need lots of very clever people who can make things happen and think outside the box to create a different world in the future.

“We know from our own workforce planning that nearly 1,000 new roles are needed by 2020.

“We need to inspire today’s youth and help them to see how exciting and interesting a career in engineering can be.”

To view the full report click here

From: http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=16947&channel=0&title=Lack+of+trained+engineers+threatens+low+carbon+economy

Packaging optimisation for cost savings and the environment

Event Type: Workshop
Start Date: 23 September 2009 - 09:00
End Date: 23 September 2009 - 12:30
Venue: Hylands House, Hylands Park, London Road
Nearest Town: Chelmsford
Venue Location: CM2 8WG

The Earth doesn’t have to cost a packet!

Envirowise and Essex County Council are holding a free event designed to help you stay legal and reduce costs.

Discover all the latest ways to save money and the environment through the use of design management. Delegates are encouraged to bring examples of good and bad packaging for the practical workshop. Be prepared to get involved!

Event Holder: Essex Trading Standards
Contact: 0845 603 7626
Contact E-Mail: TSBusinessSupport@essex.gov.uk

PECT helps local businesses cut their costs

Environmental charity Peterborough Environmental City Trust (PECT) has helped 17 local businesses to reduce their environmental impact, including Peterborough United Football Club.

The help has been provided as part of a project called Resource Efficiency East which has been funded by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The scheme has provided a range of local firms with in-depth environmental support to reduce their carbon footprint and costs.

Rachel Huxley from PECT visited 17 businesses to provide tailored advice on key areas each business should focus on. According to Rachel this varied depending on the nature of the business, “The key environment issues for a manufacturing firm are different from those of an office. This project aimed to help a variety of businesses identify how they could operate in a greener way, whilst at the same time saving them money.”

“This ranged from finding ways to reduce the amount of energy used, or managing waste more effectively so it doesn’t end up in landfill. We were able to save one firm over £2,000 a year just by suggesting they switch to energy saving bulbs.”

“Simple actions really can make a big difference, for example heating costs go up 8% each time you increase the temperature by just one degree.”

Each firm received a review of their premises looking at all the areas the business could save money and reduce resource use. After the visit to each firm they also received a bespoke report detailing which areas to prioritise and how much money they could save by taking various actions.

Some of the suggested ‘quick wins’ for POSH include:

• Replacing light bulbs with energy efficient ones with an estimated saving of £2, 180.00 and 11.5 tonnes of CO2 every year
• An education campaign to ensure lights are switched off in rooms not being used with an estimated saving of £860.00 and 3.5 tonnes of CO2 every year.

Longer term improvements include rainwater harvesting for pitch irrigation, and even for use in toilets and urinals. This could save over 1.5 million litres of water and around £2,000 a year. It is estimate that an ongoing environmental awareness campaign with staff to reduce paper used and waste created would result in further 10% reduction in costs.  

From: http://www.pect.org.uk/news/161-3-august-posh-goes-green

Corby business benefits from EMDA grant

A Corby based company which specialises in the production of domestic and industrial wet wipes has been able to open a new 3,964 sq m manufacturing facility, thanks to a Grant for Business Investment (GBI) of £180,000 from East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Pluswipes Limited is investing a total of £1.6 million to develop and expand its operation at Willowbrook Industrial Estate in Corby.

The money will enable Pluswipes to invest in its product development work and increase manufacturing facilities for its innovative domestic and industrial cleaning wet wipes.

As part of the redevelopment, Pluswipes is introducing two new production lines for wet wipes, which will increase capacity and turnover to £10m in the next five years.

Pluswipes’ Director, Tanya Teasdale Brown, said: “We’re really delighted that we have been able to get the funding in place to go ahead with our investment plan. The GBI we received from EMDA also helped us to raise the additional money we needed. The investment has enabled us to increase production and develop new, innovative products for our customers.”

Pluswipes, which was formed in 2002 is one of 86 businesses which have been supported by EMDA since GBI grant was extended to cover the whole of the East Midlands in April 2007, EMDA has awarded some £12.3 million of GBI grants which will help these businesses to invest a total of £103 million.

Grant for Business Investment is a discretionary scheme delivered by the Regional Development Agencies, on behalf of the BIS, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. It is aimed at businesses which need financial help to invest in land and buildings or plant and machinery in order to expand and modernise.

Jeff Moore, Chief Executive of EMDA who finally opened the new building, said: “Pluswipes has tremendous growth potential and the Grant for Business Investment that we have given them has helped the company to develop this new facility and embark on its ambitious development plans.

“Pluswipes is just the kind of innovative, growing business that the GBI can help, and I would like to encourage other small and medium sized companies across Northamptonshire and the whole of the East Midlands that are thinking of expanding to get in contact with us to find out how we can help them achieve their aims.”

In May this year, EMDA announced that it is providing an additional £9.5 million to the GBI scheme with European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) contributing to a further £1.4 million. The funding will be available to support businesses up until 2012.

The GBI scheme criteria are straightforward and relate to location, need, the size and type of the business, the nature and size of the investment, viability, and the quality of the project.

For further details about GBI scheme or application process, please contact the Business Investment Team at EMDA on 0115 988 8300, visit www.emda.org.uk/gbi or email gbi@emd.org.uk

From: http://www.emda.org.uk/projects/details.asp?filevar=502

Norfolk in fast lane of electric dream

Norfolk has been urged to seize the moment and put Norwich in the fast lane of the government’s £250m vision of getting more drivers into electric cars.

Ministers unveiled radical plans to make electric cars a reality with drivers accessing grants of up to £5000 to buy one from 2011.

Electric cars can range from £10,000 for a two-seater My Car to up to £70,000 for a top-range Tesla Roadster but ministers want to do more to bring them into the price range of the average motorist because of the impact on carbon emissions.

The government is also seeking bids from places interested in becoming “electric cities” to showcase and promote the technology and pay for the installation of charging points - with a strong belief locally that Norwich could be the perfect location.

Around 200 electric cars would also be available in city centres for the public to test drive.

Norfolk engineering firm Lotus, which has helped developed the Tesla Roadster technology, urged transport chiefs to get behind a city bid, claiming one in five motorists in and around Norwich could be driving electric within a decade.

Simon Wood, its technical director, said both city and region were perfectly placed to take advantage of the scheme and government grants to get motorists to buy electric were “exactly the right answer”.

He said it would bring business benefits to the wider region and boost the use of “ultra low carbon” cars which could also include those powered by biofuels.

“I think it would be fantastic for the city,” he said. “It just seems so obvious. As a regional centre it has got well defined boundaries and a good park-and-ride network.

“There are lots of people who live in or just outside of Norwich who commute daily. That’s really where the electric car wins, and £5,000 off one of the lower price cars is probably enough to make people have a look at it.

“If the city and county councils were really positive they could say no-one could come into the city centre unless they had an electric car - otherwise they could leave their car at the park and ride.”

Currently electric car owners can get free parking permits in Norwich, while Chapelfield Shopping Centre car park is the only one locally where drivers can charge up.

The plans would also allow areas access to £20m to improve infrastructure such as charging stations and other types of infrastructure.

Brian Morrey, Norwich city council’s executive member for sustainable development, said: “It sounds like a good idea if they are willing to put the money in.”

But he said with council funding tight it would be down to the government to find most of the cash, adding: “I would like to know more of the details because I don’t want it to become another one of these things that’s going to cost us an arm and a leg.”

Marcus Armes, of the Carbon Reduction Initiative (Cred), said he was planning to talk to bosses at UEA, which is developing a renewable power plant capable of supplying electricity to the cars, to see if they would support the idea.

“I don’t think it’s a panacea, but electric cars have really got a part to play - 60pc of journeys are under 25 miles, and there is a lot of commuting going on in Norwich, so it would be a sensible idea for the city,” he said.

Adrian Gunson, cabinet portfolio-holder for planning and transportation at County Hall, said he would be happy for Norwich to look at the electric city idea but feared vehicles would not be viable in rural areas. And he was against banning traditional cars from the city centre.

“Anything that reduces pollution in the city is a good idea and well worth looking at, but for rural areas there are questions about whether the technology has reached the point to encourage people to go to the extra trouble of having one,” he said.

But Rupert Read, Green Party transport spokesman at City Hall said the investment would only work if supported by a “massive shift” towards renewable energy.

The AA welcomed the initiative and said while cities like London and Manchester could be in pole position for the electric city roles, Norwich could also be well placed because it had a car club, where electric cars could be used.

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon, who took a spin in an electric car with Lord Mandelson, said cutting road transport CO2 emissions was a “key element” to tackling climate change.

“The scale of incentives we’re announcing will mean an electric car is a real option for motorists as well as helping to make the UK a world leader in low carbon transport,” he said.

 From: http://www.edp24.co.uk

2008 Car CO2 emmision figures down 4.2% against 2007

CO₂ emissions from new cars fell by their biggest ever margin in 2008 with the average model now emitting just 158.0g/km - 4.2% less than the 2007 figure and 16.8% down on the 189.8g/km base level in 1997.

The figures, revealed in the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ (SMMT) annual New Car CO₂ Report, showed that while the number of cars on the road and the distance travelled has increased, their share of totalUK emissions continues to fall. Cars now account for just 11.5% of the country’s total CO₂ emissions, largely as a result of new technology, improved fuel consumption rates and better consumer awareness.

CO₂ emissions have fallen across all market segments with the larger end of the market making some of the biggest improvements. In addition, increased consumer awareness and changes to vehicle taxation have resulted in a move towards ‘best in class’ choices with most consumers opting to buy a model with CO₂emissions within the bottom quarter of their preferred segment’s range.

“The motor industry has made enormous progress in its work to cut the environmental impact of its products but more must be done if the tough targets set by European legislation are to be met,” said SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt. “Maintaining a steady rate of fleet renewal is vital to this success so the recent fall in new car registrations presents more than an economic challenge. Again, we urge government to implement a scrappage incentive scheme to take older, high-emitting cars off the road and boost the new car market.”

The adoption of the new car CO₂ regulation in December 2008 set a phase-in target for vehicle manufacturers to ensure their average fleet emissions do not exceed 130g/km by 2015. In the UK, there are already 236 models emitting less than 130g/km on the UK market but for the target to be met, an annual improvement of 2.5% per year must be maintained.

For more, please download the full report