Optare's plant oil option claims up to 90% carbon reduction 20 January 2010

Courtney Coaches of Bracknell is taking delivery of two Tempo 12 metre buses from Optare, built to run on pure plant oil using Regenatec technology.

Courtney has considerable experience of the fuel – including running Solos on pure plant oil – and claims that it can reduce carbon emissions by 70—90%, well in excess of the government's 30% target for green buses.

Add to that the light weight of Optare's Tempo – these are 47-seaters for business park transport services – and Courtney is expecting performance at the top end of that range.

Both buses will be powered by Mercedes-Benz 906LA engines, rated at 282bhp and matched to Allison T310R five-speed transmissions.

Optare says its plant oil fuel option is now available both on new vehicles and as an upgrade to existing buses. For upgrades the work is carried out at the company's recently established Low Carbon Conversion Centre at Blackburn.

Pure plant oil fuel can come from several sources, including non-food crops such as Jatropha and Pongamia grown on marginal, non-agricultural land.

However, Regenatec has been providing the Courtney fleet with fuel based on used cooking oils, which, says the company, has resulted in trouble-free operation for in excess of 2.5 million miles.

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Optare plc

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