Tagged with Transport

Virgin Starts Brisbane Biofuel Trial

Brisbane airport will become one of the first airports in the world to use biofuel, with Virgin Australia trialling the sustainable fuel source.

Virgin Starts Brisbane Biofuel Trial

Photo: article supplied

Virgin has partnered with US-based renewable fuel supplier Gevo Inc to supply “biojet” fuel to Virgin planes out of Brisbane for the next two years.

Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti said the airline wanted to test whether the renewable fuel was a viable alternative to straight jet fuel.

“The project announced today is critical to testing the fuel supply chain infrastructure in Australia to ensure that Virgin and Brisbane Airport are ready for the commercial supply of these exciting fuels,” he said.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said over the course of the trial the biofuel would be produced overseas and shipped to Australia, but she hoped over the next two years it would be able to be sourced locally.

“To get up and running, industrial-scale biorefineries need a critical mass of customers to supply,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“That’s why it’s vital to get big industries like aviation and defence on board as potential customers.”

The Queensland government has already signed a deal to supply biofuel to the US Navy, with an agreement to supply 50 per cent of their fuel needs by 2020.

This was originally published by SBS.com.au.

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Melbourne’s Trams To Be Solar Powered

Melbourne’s trams network will soon be powered by the first large-scale solar plant to be built in Victoria.

The solar plant, which will be completed by the end of 2018, is expected to be located in Victoria’s north-west.

melbourne-solar-powered-trams

Photo: article supplied

The state government announced on Thursday that the solar plant would produce 75 megawatts of power, with about half of that production to be linked to the tram network.

Energy, Environment and Climate Change Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the government would use its purchasing power as a “large energy consumer” to boost investment in renewables.

The project is expected to create 300 new jobs. The tender to construct the solar plant will open in the first half of this year.

Ms D’Ambrosio said 35 megawatts of power was sufficient to cover the energy needs of 410 trams in the Melbourne network.

She said the solar power arrangement was “notional” but the growth in renewable energy would be sufficient to cover the tram network’s needs.

The energy produced by the plant will flow into the broader electricity system. But the government will buy so-called renewable energy certificates from the plant, which help to give it financial certainty.

Renewable power producers can sell both electricity and renewable energy certificates giving them an additional potential revenue stream.

Ms D’Ambrosio would not be drawn on how much the project was likely to cost. She said money had been put aside in the budget that would cover the cost of building the plant.

This article was originally published by The Age.

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