Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils
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Decision details

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: No

Is subject to call in?: Yes

Decision:

It was RESOLVED:

 

1.1          That Cabinet agreed to move to using HVO as a replacement for conventional diesel in the Council vehicle fleet. This is a cleaner, less polluting fuel and results in a significant CO2 emission reduction.

 

1.2          That Cabinet agreed to proceed with the procurement of a supplier for the provision of HVO fuel and the supply and installation of a fuel tank at Chilton Depot, Sudbury.

 

1.3          That Cabinet agreed to secure the capital and revenue budgets funding for the project for a minimum of 3 years as identified in the report.

 

1.4          That Cabinet agreed to proceed with a CIL bid to fund the capital element of the project.

 

Reason for Decision: To reduce the councils CO2 emissions by 900 tonnes a year. This represents 26% of total the total emissions. In accordance with its commitment to be zero carbon by 2030.

 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

 

Other alternatives to de-carbonise the vehicle fleet were researched; electric, biodiesel, and HVO were considered

 

1.1      Electric

There isone modelof electricRCV commerciallyavailable, theeCollect manufactured by Dennis Eagle. The costs of the vehicle are 40-80% greater than a conventional diesel engine version. However, electric costs to power the vehicle are about a third of diesel with additional savings in the form of zero vehicle tax and reduced servicing costs. There would be additional costs in the form of suitable electric vehicle charging points and associated infrastructure at depots.

 

1.2     There are no areno appropriatetechnical performancedetails ofthe electricvehicles availablefrom DennisEagle. Thereare trialsoccurring acrossthe country,notably theCity ofLondon, however,these arepredominantly inurban areas.A trialof anelectric vehiclehas beenrequested fromDennis Eagle.

 

1.3     Due to the lack of performance data for the electric RCVs there would be many risks associated with moving over to electric RCVs immediately. A large proportion of the RCV fleet comes to the end of their current lease in 2023. A consideration may be to review this exercise again before that date by which time there should be more data available to make an informed decision.

 

 

1.4     Biodiesel

Biodiesel otherwise known as FattyAcid MethylEster (FAME)is adiesel fuel replacement produced from plant and vegetable oils. Such oils cannot be blended directly with conventional diesel and so a chemical reaction using methanol and sodium hydroxide as a catalyst is used to convert vegetable/plant oils into their constituent methyl esters. These can then be blended with diesel at levels of up to 10%. However, the standard norm in the UK is to blend biofuels to a maximum of 7% of the total fuel.

 

1.5      Plant/vegetable oils may come from a variety of sources, such as oilseed rape, soy, palm, used cooking oils (UCO) and waste oils. Depending on the provenance, the biofuel can save around 50-60% of the emissions resulting from a ULS (ultra-low sulphur) diesel fuel. However, they do have their own unique other issues.

·        Palm oil-based fuels block the vehicle’sfilters.

·        Biodiesel can also oxidise if left too long in a storage tank and it goesrancid.

·        Biodiesel have a corrosive effect on vehicle engine’s rubbercomponents.

·        Doubt over the traceability of the UCO sourced from outsideEurope.

·        The main issue is the likelihood that biodiesel contains palm oil, even if from a waste cooking oil source. Whilst it offers a cheap and versatile feedstock the environmental and ecological impact related to its cultivation has increasingly brought the sustainability and long-term suitability intoquestion.

 

1.6     Therefore for the above  reasons, biodiesel in this form has not been considered as a suitable alternative fuel in thisreport

 

1.7     Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil(HVO) HVO is an alternative way to           produce high-quality biobased diesel fuels without compromising fuel storage, engines, exhaust aftertreatment devices, or exhaust emissions. These fuels are colloquially referred to as “renewable diesel fuels” instead of “biodiesel”. Chemically HVOs are mixtures of fully saturated hydrocarbons and are free of sulphur and aromatics, unlike fossil diesel. Cold properties of HVO can be adjusted to meet the local requirements by adjusting the severity of the process or by additional catalytic processing. This is therefore the recommended option.

 

Any Declarations of Interest Declared: None

 

Any Dispensation Granted: None

 

Publication date: 08/01/2021

Date of decision: 07/01/2021

Decided at meeting: 07/01/2021 - Babergh Cabinet

Effective from: 16/01/2021

Accompanying Documents: