By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
A Nottinghamshire council is set to spend up to £42,000 on switching to using biofuel in its vehicle fleet.
Broxtowe Borough Council says decarbonising its fleet is a “key priority” after discovering emissions from its transport accounted for 26 per cent of the authority’s total emissions in 2020/21.
Around 70 per cent of those emissions were from its refuse vehicles.
Biofuel or HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) is a renewable diesel alternative based on vegetable oils, grease waste, or other residues from the food industry.
It is typically more expensive than diesel and the council states that the additional cost of using it would be in the region of £38,952 per year.
Council papers stated that switching to biofuel would represent a 74.8 per cent reduction in the council’s fuel emissions.
Councillors will vote on the move during the cabinet meeting on May 24.
The papers published ahead of the meeting said: “Whilst alternatives such as electrification and hydrogen fuel are a longer term concept, a reduction in fleet emissions can still be achieved in the shorter term through the use of alternative fuels, which require no capital or infrastructure investment.
“Whilst transition to HVO will require an increase in the budget in the longer term, the relative investment to pay back in terms CO2 emission reduction means that the additional expense represents an environmentally sound investment and demonstrates that the Council is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 31 December 2027.”
(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)
