UK coal freight giant to source 100% renewable electricity

One Step Off The Grid

Britain’s leading rail freight business, whose trains haul coal and petroleum, as well as steel and biomass, is shifting its electricity supply to 100 per cent renewables.

DB Cargo UK – a subsidiary of German giant Deutsche Bahn – announced this week that all of its rail sites and offices would be powered by renewable electricity, via a three-year agreement with SSE Business Energy.

Through the deal, SSE – which claims to have the broadest portfolio of renewable generation assets in the UK and Ireland – will supply all sites belonging to DB Cargo, allowing the freight company to report zero carbon emissions electricity.

DB Cargo said it would also equip its entire fleet with smart sensors and smart telematics, or fleet tracking systems by 2020.

“Producing electricity from sources which do not cause significant impact on the environment contributes significantly to our responsibility to tackle global warming and pollution,” said DB Cargo’s head of safety, security and environment, Richard Lait.

“Utilising natural energy flows to create the cleanest energy sources makes good economic sense too”

Schneider Electric, which helped to advise DB Cargo on the right energy supply deal for the company, said renewables made better and better business sense, as technologies advanced and prices fell.

“Through a rigorous selection process, DB Cargo made a milestone investment that serves its customers, communities and long-term operational needs,” said Andy Dewis, vice president of energy and sustainability service at Schneider.

Parent company Deutsche Bahn has its own target to cut “specific” emissions from rail, road, air and ocean transport by 30 per cent by 2020, compared to 2006 levels.

This article was originally published on RenewEconomy’s sister site, One Step Off The Grid, which focuses on customer experience with distributed generation. To sign up to One Step’s free weekly newsletter, please click here.