Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister for Infrastructure, in light of increases in fuel costs, to detail any recent assessment she has made of the benefits of using renewable sources to power all vehicles used by her Department and its arms-length bodies.
Minister for Infrastructure: My Department is committed to progressing toward a more sustainable fleet as part of its wider environmental commitments and leads a cross-NICS working group which has been established to set a clear pathway to decarbonise the public sector fleet.
My Department has assessed renewable and lower-carbon fuel options for its fleet and while electric vehicles have been shown to be suitable for some roles, operational constraints currently restrict wider rollout.
Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) has also been evaluated as a renewable alternative and all new department vehicles and engineering plant are now required to be HVOcompatible, supporting emissions reductions in the short to medium term. Efficiency measures, including driver training, are also being implemented to reduce fuel use and costs, with a phased approach to wider adoption dependent on technological development, affordability and supporting infrastructure.
ENDS
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