Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is looking to strike a long-term deal which will see Metrolink trams powered by 100% renewable energy as the city-region takes steps to having the UK’s first carbon neutral transport system.
A week on from the Government approving an investment-led plan for cleaning up the city-region’s air, Greater Manchester has begun outlining plans to invest significantly in homegrown clean energy to power the Bee Network.
TfGM is looking to enter a power purchase agreement (PPA) on energy produced by a newly-constructed solar or wind farm. A PPA is a a long-term contract between an energy generator and a buyer to buy energy at an agreed price, protecting the buyer against spikes in energy prices and offering a guarantee of revenue to the seller.
With an estimated value of around £57 million over 15 years, the upcoming tender would provide the equivalent power to cover Metrolink’s current annual demand and could be replicated in the future to cover the consumption of an increasingly electrified bus network, which is expected to almost quadruple annual energy use. The number of electric buses in the fleet also continues to grow rapidly, from fewer than 1% before franchising to 25% by the summer, with £51.1 million to be spend on 40 more zero emission buses, 77 Euro VI standard buses and charging infrastructure as part of the Clean Air Plan.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:
“The Bee Network is the key to unlocking a new green revolution across Greater Manchester. With cleaner, more reliable public transport we can cut carbon emissions, improve services for passengers and clear up the air throughout our city-region.
“We’re making rapid progress to electrify our bus fleet and our depots, and are on track to have a full electric network by 2030. Locking in a long-term, stable supply of renewable energy will help us meet that goal, delivering new net-zero infrastructure and driving down emissions across the network.”
This first PPA would be for an initial 45,000 megawatt hours of energy, equivalent to Metrolink’s annual electricity consumption. As more electric buses are brought into service, the amount of energy used by TfGM is expected to grow from 58,000 MWh in 2024 to around 214,000 MWh by 2036, which provides the opportunity for further PPAs in the future.
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