WA Leads Australia in Alternative Fuel Transportation!
  An ambitious program to develop environmentally, economically and socially sustainable transport systems for Western Australia (WA) has been announced by Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan.
The Sustainable Transport Energy Program (STEP) will consist of a series of fuel trials and research projects and will also include an initiative to reduce the use of fossil fuels.
Ms MacTiernan said she was directing the State Government's effort in seeking out and developing sustainable transport methods.

"We have a dependency on fossil fuels, which are a finite resource, environmentally damaging and becoming increasingly costly to extract," she said.
The first STEP initiatives include:

  • the establishment of a committee to develop a sustainable transport energy strategy for WA;
  • a trial of bio-fuel using Transperth buses;
  • the increased use of four cylinder vehicles within the Planning and Infrastructure portfolio;
  • the inclusion of 20 hybrid electric cars in the Government fleet; and
  • a hydrogen fuel cell bus trial.
 

"WA is highly dependent on road transport, and our economy is highly sensitive to relatively small fluctuations in oil prices through its impact on transport costs," Ms MacTiernan said.
"Carbon-based fossil fuels produce environmentally harmful emissions, and oil will be in increasingly short supply in the coming 10 to 20 years. We therefore have a responsibility to diversify our sources of transport energy and move toward newer, sustainable energy sources, such as bio-fuels or hydrogen."
A tender for the provision of bio-fuel - a fuel extracted entirely from plant material - for a trial within the Transperth fleet, will be advertised in the coming weeks.

A dozen Transperth buses will use bio-fuel. During this period there will be ongoing monitoring including emission testing, fuel consumption and maintenance trends.
A successful trial should see the bio-fuel gaining greater acceptability and more widespread use.
Other initiatives to be introduced include the acquisition of 20 Toyota Prius hybrid electric cars for the Department for Planning and Infrastructure vehicle fleet.
"This will be an excellent opportunity to gather data and evaluate the environmental impacts and cost effectiveness of using hybrid electric vehicles day-to-day," the Minister said.
Motor vehicles will be selected according to their intended use across the State Government's Planning and Infrastructure portfolio.
The Department for Planning and Infrastructure - and all other agencies in the portfolio - will routinely acquire only four-cylinder cars for their passenger vehicle fleets, with larger vehicles only being acquired where a vehicle's intended operational use requires a bigger engine.
"This decision alone could prevent some 100 tonnes of greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere over the life of those cars while they are operating for the State Government," Ms MacTiernan said.
"The total changeover could also save the Department for Planning and Infrastructure about $150,000 in fuel and running costs each year.
"I intend to spread these initiatives across all agencies in the Planning and Infrastructure portfolio, and would like to see a Government-wide implementation in the months to come."
The Sustainable Transport Energy Program includes a trial of three hydrogen fuel cell buses in the Transperth fleet.
"Fuel cell technology could hold the key for the long-term future of road transport, and by trialling hydrogen fuel cell buses we are looking beyond current technology towards the next generation of vehicle power," Ms MacTiernan said.
The Minister also announced the formation of a committee to examine the short and long-term energy needs for transport in WA.
The Transport Energy Strategy Committee will provide advice as to how WA can best develop diversified sources of energy that are environmentally, economically and socially sustainable.
"Sustainable transport is vital to the future of the State, and the strategic focus of this committee will be 'where to next'," Ms MacTiernan said.
"We need energy security."
The Transport Energy Strategy Committee will be asked to make recommendations on alternative energy sources, priorities for research and development, education and information strategies, financial regimes that might be used and the role Government can play in the implementation of a Transport Energy Strategy.
Source: Government of Western Australia

Designed and maintained by Styleweaver!