Increased use of biogas in Stockholm

Yesterday, Stockholm city arranged a lunch seminar on future transports with Environmental Chancellor of Stockholm, Ulla Hamilton:
http://ullahamilton.se/

I was invited to present opportunities for future buses and presented a new quantification of the impact of: changing mode of transport, improving the bus, improving the infrastructure to give buses priority in traffic and to change to biofuels. As it turns out, there is a high potential in all four measures.

Stockholm city is certainly a good example to mention when it comes to bio fuels. The use of biogas will increase and the commitments are secured by long term contracts.

 Two Volvo biogas buses meet in front of the Stockholm City Hall.

 

The pros and cons of the Stockholm ethanol bus fleet were discussed, following the recent debate on food or fuel. The concern for the increasing price of food and bio fuel, urge for more distinct actions to realise the 2nd generation of bio fuel. Still, the impact of land use needs to be further monitored. The issue is complex and long term political commitments are needed for bus manufacturers and operators. However, Stockholm is also in the frontline of the biogas development. Solid commitments are secured by long term contracts and investments in production plants that produce biogas from sewage and other biomass wastes.

The local airport authorities presented a plan to decrease the environmental impact of the flights and air port operation. Arlanda airport is obliged to keep the CO2 emissions below the level of 1990. This presents quite a challenge now considering the increase in number of flights. The airport is considered as a hub including all land transports and transports by travellers to and from the airport. Interestingly, and as noted previously in this blog, biodiesel fuelled buses is a part of the solution.

Trondheim Environmental Seminar

Today, I visited the Norwegian village, Stjördal some 30 km from Trondheim. Even if I did not catch the sight of the fjords, the completely clear sky with the surrounding mountains offered an impressive venue for an environmental seminar.

As it turned out the flight buss offered a panorama as well. The local operator Klaebu Ruten operates Volvo 9700 at Trondheim Airport.

 

The seminar covered political trends, alternative fuels, hybrid development and recent Bus Rapid Transit development.

The Volvo parallel hybrid caught most of the attention. But, we also had a vivid discussion concerning bio diesel, bio gas or other alternative fuels.

If so, how can the PTAs secure that the bio fuel is not compromising price of food or ethical values such as working conditions. I have no good answers to deliver, as evident from other recent blog contributions. For the moment safe choices are fuels that make use of wastes, such as sewage, for fuel production, e.g. Biogas.

At the succeeding lunch the central subject became safety. I learned that the Nordic climate with icy roads in combination with occasional strong winds put special demands on weight balance of the buses. In fact it is not very rare that the buses slide off the road. For such conditions the 8500 and 8700 with the mid mounted engine together with other offers based on the B12M chassis presents a particularly well balanced offer. Both politicians and operators seemed to agree that the mid mounted Volvo buses are more or less the only buses available for the demanding traffic of northern Scandinavia.

 Volvo 8700

Meeting the Minister of Infrastructure, Åsa Torstensson

Last Saturday, accidentally, I got the opportunity to discuss bus infrastructure with the Swedish minister for infrastructure when she visited Kungälv, a small town outside Gothenburg. Naturally, I took the opportunity to argue for the priority of bus infrastructure. As noted previously in the blog I have been a bit disappointed by the lack of targeted actions for buses, both in the international arena and in Sweden.

After a brief review of the present status we got into a stimulating and extended in depth discussion. We had a very fruitful dialog about the pros and cons of different potential development scenarios. The minister was very well informed about the local projects that give a menu of typical infrastructure needs of our time. Indeed the contradicting demands of lowering the environmental impact and increasing the economical growth are on top of the agenda in most parts of the world. And, it was therefore very inspiring to compare different viewpoints and conclusions by examples.

Below I have summarised some of the bullet points of the conversation:

I related to the recent report from the Swedish climate committee where much emphasis is spent on infrastructure and public transports in general. However, not one single sentence mentions the use of buses as a cost efficient alternative. While other means of transports are specifically targeted by earmark money. This goes in particular for the proposed increase of railways by 50%.

I therefore proposed that we should apply general principles for infrastructure investments that measure the impact by cost. For the climate committee it should thus be essential to minimise the emissions of climate gases and, to use as little money as possible to achieve the target. The report does not reveal any deeper relation between the cost for the planed actions and the effect of the measures. Buses offer cost efficient transport of persons. In most cities, it is the most cost efficient transport of persons. While cars for example, can offer cost efficient alternatives in less densely populated areas. The combination of the two should be promoted, following the motto: “The right vehicle for the right transport”.

The target should be to provide money for public transport infrastructure in a technology neutral way, in order to allow a just promotion of infrastructure buses and other cost efficient means of transports.

We know that some of the most cost efficient actions are:

- Promoting separate lanes and stops for buses

- Giving buses priority in traffic (e.g. at traffic lights)

- Promote easy access to bus terminals by providing more park + ride solutions for car users

- Provide means to support fuel efficient hybrid buses

- Present a long term plan for infrastructure for sustainable fuels

Often, those actions save money for society, rather than cause cost for the tax payers.

The minister, Åsa Torstensson, related to the overall targets that are not only considering climate issues and she emphasised that there is an additional need for securing and improving infrastructure to peripheral towns that are industrially connected to the industrial growth of for example the Göteborg region. The time for travelling is another important factor when people chose means for transports and thus has to be a part of the “equation”. As an example, travellers chose the train over aeroplanes, when the journey takes less time.

There is thus no lack of subjects for future talks

Right or wrong, bio fuels are increasingly debated

The debate is not new; in fact most of the data and consequences were thoroughly described both in the IPCC reports (The United Nation workgroup: Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change). Likewise, the report of the British Economist Sir Nicolas Stern, The Stern Report, pinpointed that the benefits of actions that cause climate change and the cost for the consequences are not directed to the same actors.

From an environmental and societal standpoint it is clear that both climate impact and food security have very high priority.

 

“The Clean Energy Scam” is revealed by Michael Grunwald in an extended article of the pacific issue of Time magazine:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1725975-1,00.html

The article blames massive subsidies for bio fuels in the US and in Europe for promoting less sound fuels and production methods. And, then carries on: But the basic problem with most biofuels is amazingly simple, given that researchers have ignored it until now: using land to grow fuel leads to the destruction of forests, wetlands and grasslands that store enormous amounts of carbon. He then continues: The biofuels boom, in short, is one that could haunt the planet for generations–and it’s only getting started.

 

World Bank Group Presiden Robert B. Zoellick, in a press conference the 10th of April, explained that bio fuels are contributing to the increase in price of wheat. 

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21725341~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html

 

In the report:

http://go.worldbank.org/YUIJXO90Q0

the world bank seeks support for an international debate. They specifically highlight the need for balancing the need for food with need for production of bio fuel for abatement of climate change. The conclusion is that the second generation of bio fuels that can be produced from wastes and thus avoid use of primary farmland for food production, needs to be brought forward promptly.

 

Buses provide one of the most environmentally friendly mean of transports for people.

Again, BRT systems, biogas buses and the upcoming hybrid bus come out as winners, of the environmental performance.

Bus superior for reducing CO2 in Beijing Olympics

Chinese CO2 footprint calculator shows that bus is the best choice, next to walking, for Olympic visitors.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-04/04/content_6592026.htm

The newspaper, China Daily, reports an example travelling 4.9 km from Tianámen Square to China World Trade Center, a highly congested part of Beijing.

	Gram CO2 per passenger	Gram per passenger km (g/km)
Walking	0	0
Bus	97	20
Metro	300	61
Car	2490	508

The figures of the example is based on average occupancy of the bus and metro respectively and on a single person in the car. Acknowledging the CO2 emissions from electrical power generation is an important step towards improvement.

By changing from other means of transports to buses both cost and climate emissions are reduced. Beijing authorities have ordered 400 buses that comply with Euro IV emission performance.

Swiss round table on Hybrids

On Tuesday the 1st of April, I took part in a debate at the Swiss VöV (Verband öfentlicher Verkehr) in Geneva. The following buss manufacturers were represented: Hess, Mercedes, Neoplan, Scania, Solaris, Van Hool, Volvo.

The focus of the discussion was on new hybrid technology. There was a big interest from all sides. The European bus manufacturers, nu doubt, were missing the economical incentive, such as in the US.The public transport authorities gave various messages ranging from that even trolley buses are motivated from an environmental standpoint to a strictly economical analysis. “Whenever the oil price justifies hybrids they will be selected.”

Volvo displayed three buses at the exhibition. The Bern artic gas bus, the Schaffhausen low floor bus and an Alfabus built on the B7R.

 Volvo 7700 artic gas bus in Bern.

But, even more interest was caught by our hybrid demonstrator engine module. Most appreciation was given to the parallel design that enables the standard mechanical back-up in case of failure of key electronic components.