Transit Contractor Experiments on GHG Reduction

(Puget) Sound Transit boasts about creating the first “100% carbon-free light rail service” in the nation, but when the contractors build concrete columns and stations, they burn fossil fuels that reduce the electric trains’ net climate benefit, says a report in The Seattle Times.

In an experiment to limit greenhouse gas, crews building the north half of Sound Transit’s 2024 Northgate-to-Lynnwood, Washington, extension are fueling two telehandlers and a loader in Mountlake Terrace with renewable plant-based diesel. It performs as well as petroleum, the crew says.

The test by Skanska USA reflects attention by the contracting and engineering industries on reducing “embodied carbon,” which refers to sources like concrete-making, heavy equipment, and supply chains, as opposed to carbon the driving public creates from its tailpipes.

The entire story can be found here.

Skanska’s three machines, out of 250 on a single project, represent a trifle in the struggle against global warming, the Times notes. But the company says its three machines in Mountlake Terrace consumed 2,988 gallons of plant-based biofuels instead of petroleum as of April 15, averting 30 metric tons of CO2 emissions, said Dan Miller, a spokesperson for Skanska. “A nice start, but lots more to do.”

Source: The Seattle Times