NZ: Green buses uneconomic

Hopes of a green bus fleet in Canterbury have been dashed by the soaring price of tallow.

Environment Canterbury (ECan) has been conducting a trial of biodiesels in four buses on Christchurch routes since September 2006.
Just five months ago, ECan was excited about a biodiesel-fuelled bus fleet. In a report it recommended work be done on changing to 10 per cent and 20% tallow-based biodiesel blends and that using biodiesel be mandatory in passenger service contracts from 2009-10.

“There is ample evidence that any logistical issue can be overcome,” the January report said.

But ECan is now turning away from biodiesel buses as the cost of tallow skyrockets and environmentalists raise fears over the sustainability of other crop-based biodiesel sources.

Tallow a sustainable by-product containing fats and other wastes from the meat-processing industry has more than doubled in price from $500 a tonne to $1085 a tonne since the trial began, making it uneconomic.

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