In a groundbreaking shift towards providing sustainable options for large-scale infrastructure projects, Kennards Hire has implemented the use four generators with B20 biodiesel on the pivotal Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport rail project. This marks the company’s first use of B20 biodiesel, transitioning from the previously used B5 blend to meet the requirements of principal contractor, CPB Contractors United Infrastructure Joint Venture (CPBUI JV).
CPBUI JV is working on the $539 million Surface and Civil Alignment Works (SCAW). This section of the project involves works on the Sydney Metro railway line, joining the new airport to the existing Sydney Trains suburban T1 western line at St Marys.
Sustainability is a cornerstone of the SCAW project, with this section of the works waiting on Australia First endorsement for lower emissions biodiesel use across all plant and equipment.
B20 represents next-phase renewable energy
The Kennards Hire team has successfully run and maintained four generators on-site throughout the project, three 100KVA and one 120KVA. The biofuel mix uses 20% recycled cooking oils to 80% diesel fuel. This is instead of the more usual B5 blend of 5% vegetable oils and 95% diesel. The only notable difference was an initial 250-hour running check of the filters, before standard 500-hour services were resumed.
According to Paul Nicholson, Operations Product Specialist – Power and Renewable Energies at Kennards Hire, the biofuel available today is higher quality than early blends.
“Today’s biodiesel is very refined and meets high standards. We used to have to change the filters more regularly, but current blends present no issues. Other companies are now expressing an interest in changing up to B20, as they see the value of using it on-site.”
Cleaner, greener fuel and lower site emissions
The SCAW project is seeking Australia First certification from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) for the use of biodiesel.
The impact of using B20 biodiesel is already being felt, with CPB Contractors reporting a reduction of 200 tCO2e —equivalent to taking 70 cars off the road annually. Christine Mueller, NSW/ACT Sustainability Manager at CPB Contractors, says it’s a “big leap forward” to use biodiesel across the entire project.
“All generators on the SCAW project are using B20, with all other plant and equipment using B5. With more than a thousand items of plant and equipment on-site, this sets a new benchmark.”
Paul says biodiesel is an important way for companies to lower CO2 emissions on major projects.
“You can run it in your existing generators, a big advantage. You can add batteries and solar to a biodiesel-fueled generator to make it more sustainable, reducing the overall carbon footprint.”