‘Green’ rail network for Canberra
26 June 2015 by News Desk
Canberra’s new light rail project, a multi-million dollar network linking Civic to Gungahlin in Canberra’s north, will be 100% powered by renewable energy.
The new Capital Metro project will help the government to achieve a target of 90% renewable energy by 2020 – the time in which stage one light rail will be operational. “This will enable the Capital Metro project to be 100% green energy powered,” said environment minister Simon Corbell.
The ACT government says the successful bidder would be required to source a minimum of 10% of the light rail system’s electricity from renewable sources like solar or wind. The successful bidder would also need to have measures in place to reduce the emissions resulting from building the network, including energy efficient construction practices and sourcing carbon offsets.
Canberra has the highest car dependence of any major Australian city, with transport now responsible for 25% of the ACT’s greenhouse gas emissions.
“Light rail has the potential to greatly improve our city’s liveability and sustainability by getting people out of their cars and onto public transport. This will not only reduce our greenhouse gas emissions but also congestion and travel times,” said environment minister Corbell.
