Vegetable oil is set to fuel a Newry council’s fleet of vehicles with the expected higher costs to ratepayers kept behind closed doors.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council’s environment committee signed off on the ‘Path to Net Zero’ this week in confidential session away from public view.
HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) is considered a ‘drop in’ replacement for diesel requiring no engine modifications, but it can be considerably more expensive to buy than diesel at this time.
In open session, committee chairperson Oonagh Magennis said: “It was agreed on the proposal of Councillor Martin Hearty and seconded by Councillor Terry Andrews to approve the transition from diesel to HVO in line with council’s transition towards net zero council, to achieve targets set by the draft sustainability and climate change strategy.”
The local authority recently began replacing a total of 77 council vehicles (2022) including bin collection lorries at an estimated cost of £7.4m.
The new biofuel is a low carbon, zero sulphur fuel made from waste renewable materials such as rapeseed and sunflower oil.
It is a fossil-free alternative to diesel and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% per vehicle.
The Department for the Economy has said that there is currently no large-scale production of HVO in Northern Ireland with imports needed, which could potentially create further costs and a carbon footprint of travel.
