Wyndham City Council is trialling the use of two hydrogen-fuelled electric vehicles as part of its fleet
Environment and Sustainability portfolio holder Cr Heather Marcus said the introduction of these vehicles was a small but positive step towards a carbon neutral future.
“Petroleum based light passenger and commercial vehicles account for 11% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, and Council is keen to play its part to reduce Wyndham’s carbon footprint,” Cr Marcus said.
“Technology is advancing at a rapid rate making alternative fuel vehicles, run on hydrogen electric or battery electric, an increasingly viable option to help reduce our environmental impact.”
“The initiative is paving the way for our goal, set out in our Environment and Sustainability Strategy 2016-2040, to have 40 per cent of our fleet carbon neutral by 2040.We are trialling these cars as part of our fleet deal with Toyota with refuelling occurring at the Toyota headquarters in Altona,” Cr Marcus said.
“A tank of hydrogen gas will see the car drive 550km. The cost of refuelling with hydrogen is currently the same price as a tank of unleaded petrol but that’s because the hydrogen fuel market is under developed,” Cr Marcus said, adding that initiatives such as this trial all go towards raising awareness of this energy as a viable and efficient fuel.
“We will demonstrate to the community that hydrogen cars have a place in the future of our environmentally-friendly City. Hydrogen is a flexible clean energy source that can be used to power businesses and homes as well as vehicles. This trial is just another way Wyndham City is contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions and I am proud of how seriously Council is taking its role to make the City a cleaner and greener place for future generations,” Cr Marcus said.
The past year has seen the installation of solar panels on all council building, the planting of hundreds of trees and the replacement of energy-hungry streetlights with modern energy efficient LED lights.
“I look forward to reports back from this trial and to continuing our work promoting cleaner energy sources into the future,” Cr Marcus said.
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