EUROPEAN high-speed operator Eurostar has announced that it is working to source 100% of the energy that powers its trains from renewable sources by 2030.<\/p>\n
As set out in the company\u2019s first sustainability report, covering 2023, 100% of the traction energy used by Eurostar in the Netherlands is already generated by wind power, sourced through power purchase agreements (PPAs) negotiated by Dutch infrastructure manager ProRail.<\/p>\n
In Britain, 40% of the traction energy used on High Speed 1 has come from wind power since 2023. The first sustainable PPA for wind to provide 20% of the total was activated in 2022 for a 10-year period, with a further 20% activated last year.<\/p>\n
Eurostar says that additional solar power generation is planned by 2025, which would take the total proportion of renewable energy used in Britain to 80%.<\/p>\n
Eurostar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Belgian infrastructure manager Infrabel in February 2024 to study the use of solar power in sourcing traction energy.<\/p>\n
To facilitate its work, Eurostar recently became the first rail company to join the RE100 alliance of companies committed to sourcing 100% of their energy from renewable sources.<\/p>\n
\u201cEurostar now has the opportunity to draw on a global network of over 400 companies as it works towards 30 million journeys a year powered by 100% renewable electricity by 2030,\u201d says Mr Ollie Wilson, head of the RE100 Climate Group.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe encourage other businesses in the rail sector to follow Eurostar\u2019s lead and commit to 100% renewable electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a deliberately ambitious target,” says Eurostar CEO, Ms Gwendoline Cazenave. \u201cEurostar wants to use its brand and commitment to accelerate change across the sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo achieve our goal, we work closely together with our partners in each of our markets, and we encourage regulatory support for the rapid deployment of new renewable energy projects.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, the transport sector accounts for 25% of European greenhouse gas emissions, making sustainable high-speed rail a key solution to a quarter of Europe\u2019s climate problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
The post Eurostar aims for 100% renewable traction energy by 2030<\/a> appeared first on International Railway Journal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" EUROPEAN high-speed operator Eurostar has announced that it is working to source 100% of the energy that powers its trains from renewable sources by 2030. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rail-news","category-transport"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t