Ecology, Estonia, Investments, Technology

The cost of the whole project is over 15 mln euros, and the buses will continue running on biomethane at least for the next seven years, spokespeople for the Environmental Investment Center said on Thursday. 

In the city of Tartu, 64 biomethane powered buses are in operation since the beginning of this year, while in Parnu 11 buses of suburban routes have been running on biomethane since last November. In addition, 18 buses operating routes in Parnu city have been running on green gas since spring 2018. 

Timo Tatar, deputy secretary general of the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications for energy, said it is a goal of the government to increase the use of renewable energy in transport as much as possible.   

Antti Tooming, head of the department of subsidies and services at the Environmental Investment Center, said that as part of the Tallinn project one-fifth of the city's public transport bus fleet will switch to biomethane, which will reduce dependence on oil by approximately 2.86 mln liters during one year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 7,392 tons.

The introduction of gas-powered buses and establishment of biomethane filling stations is financed by the Environmental Investment Center with money received from the EU Cohesion Fund.  

Estonia has set itself the objective of bringing the ratio of use of renewable energy in the transport sector to 14 percent by 2030.