Portland Metro Region Avoids Millions of Pounds of Greenhouse Gas Emissions with TriMet’s Switch to Renewable Diesel
(TriMet News) The agency used more than five million gallons of cleaner burning R99 diesel since December 2021, decreasing environmental pollution and lowering maintenance costs — What happens when you take hundreds of buses that travel millions of miles and run them on renewable diesel? You start making a big difference–for the environment and for the people who live, work and play across TriMet’s 533-square mile service district. Since Dec. 2, 2021, our nearly 700 fixed-route buses have run on R99, a blend of 99% renewable diesel and 1% petroleum. Our LIFT paratransit vans and buses along with our WES commuter rail trains made the switch to the greener, cleaner-burning fuel on May 1, 2022. In the past year, we’ve used more than five million gallons of R99, a move which created cleaner air for our community, reduced maintenance costs and helped TriMet exceed milestones on our road to net-zero emissions by 2050.
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As renewable diesel burns much cleaner than traditional diesel fuel as well as biodiesel, TriMet expects to see significant maintenance cost savings over time. Since making the transition to R99 in our fixed-route fleet one year ago, we have experienced a notable decrease in maintenance issues related to our buses’ emissions systems. That’s because renewable diesel is easier on the exhaust after-treatment systems that are installed on our buses. That ultimately lowers the time and cost required to maintain them. In fact, TriMet estimates annual maintenance cost savings could reach as much as $100,000 per year.
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As TriMet pursues net-zero emissions by 2050, our adoption of renewable energy helps meet milestones defined in our Climate Action Plan. By purchasing renewable electricity and renewable diesel in the past year, we estimate exceeding our 2022 goal for a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (from a 2020 baseline), by about 10%. READ MORE
