Laing O’Rourke is replacing red diesel with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in all its site plant before the end of March. HVO will be a ‘transition fuel’ as the contractor works towards a fleet that is entirely made up of electric and hydrogen powered equipment.
The use of rebated red diesel will be banned in construction plant from April with the option to use more expensive white diesel or alternative fuels.
O’Rourke’s Select Plant Hire and Explore Plant and Equipment divisions have been testing HVO over the last six months.
The move will reduce emissions from by up to 90%. Currently the use of red diesel in plant equipment is the largest single source of the company’s direct emissions, comprising 39% of the total.
Alex Warrington, Managing Director of Select Plant Hire, said: “This is a positive step forward and will result in a substantial reduction in the largest single source of our direct emissions.
“While it would be more straightforward to switch to white diesel, we believe it’s important we take the necessary actions to meet our 2030 operational net zero deadline.
“Our vision is to have all our plant powered by electricity or hydrogen by 2030.
“This is not possible right now, but from 2025 we expect to see a marked increase in the availability of electric and hydrogen plant equipment from manufacturers, and from then we will start to replace the HVO powered plant in our fleet.”
Laing O’Rourke will also ensure that any third-party plant equipment used on its project sites uses HVO rather than diesel.
(Original source: https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2022/01/31/diesel-power-to-disappear-from-orourke-sites/)
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