Written by: Gavin Sowden
2021
One of the projects aimed at reducing our environmental impact this year has been the trial of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil to replace the use of diesel to power the green keeping machinery fleet.
The greenkeepers workshop have been using HVO in different pieces of machinery, monitoring the performance and effects it may have compared to diesel. HVO is derived from 100% renewable sources and can reduce carbon emissions by 90%. It has a ten year storage lifespan and is a sustainable fuel for cleaner air. It’s synthetically made through the hydro treatment process from vegetable oils or animal fats which allows it to significantly reduce harmful emissions when used in diesel vehicles and machinery.
At first, older machinery within the fleet was used to trial the new fuel and following great results and no problems, newer machines have been added to the trial. It is hoped we can eventually move away from using any diesel within the fleet and begin to reduce our carbon footprint with HVO.
