TERESA MADALENO A project underway in Ireland will see over a dozen bio-methane fast fill stations on transport routes for buses, trucks and vans. The natural gas is coming from food and farm waste.
Led by Gas Networks Ireland and called, “The Causeway Project”, the use of the fast fill stations will be monitored and data will be shared with transport operators across Europe. Project organizers see their efforts as a testing ground and if all goes well, they hope the technology can be used right across Europe.
A renewable-gas injection facility is also being planned in Waterford, which is in the Southeast region of Ireland.
While the idea is to begin with 14 fast-fill stations, Gas Networks Ireland, the group spearheading the project, envisions about 70 filling stations at some point. The head of GNI recently told Irish reporters that transport accounts for one-third of all energy use in the country and this project would help to decarbonise commercial fleets.
Using food waste to fuel trucks isn’t a new concept. For instance, last year the British grocery chain Waitrose started using new delivery trucks that run on food waste fuel. Some suggest that food-based gas can emit up to 70 percent less carbon dioxide. Another example of food waste powering vehicles came to light in late 2017 when London city officials announced that they would be running more than 9,000 of their buses on an alternative fuel produced in part from used coffee grinds.
The saying, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is familiar in terms of used clothing and household items, but there are many who are starting to believe that one man’s trash could become another man’s lower carbon footprint, as waste based fuels become more common.