PLANS to build an “alternative fuel centre” in Bradford – which would power a fleet of green vehicles – have taken a huge step forward.

A £770,000 grant has been awarded to develop the new centre – which will be built at Bowling Back Lane.

Bradford Council is planning up upgrade its vehicle fleet, with smaller vehicles powered by electricity and larger vehicles powered by biomethane gas.

The planned centre at Bowling Back Lane would be to fuel these gas powered vehicles.

Last night it was announced that Northern Gas Networks has secured a £770,000 Network Innovation Competition funding grant from Ofgem for  work to link Bradford’s Alternative Fuel Centre to the gas network.

The move brings the development of the filling station on Bowling Back Lane a step closer, by linking it into the local gas transmission system operated by Northern Gas Networks.

The Council’s plans will see the Household Waste Recycling Centre on Bowling Back Lane redeveloped by 2021 to provide the facility for the Council and around 77 of its vehicles.

Other local businesses with gas powered vehicles will also be able to re-fuel them at the site.

As well as helping achieve the Council’s climate change targets, the use of alternative fuels would also provide a cost saving both for the Local Authority and other businesses taking advantage of the site.

First images of planned ‘energy centre’ that could power green city centre heating scheme

The Council’s Executive voted to move forward with the plans at a meeting last month.

Bradford Council recently announced that it was looking to purchase new gas powered big wagons when it next needed to replace older vehicles.

Richard Hynes-Cooper, Head of Innovation for Northern Gas Networks said: “Transport is a key piece of the decarbonisation jigsaw. Alternative fuels like CNG allow us to take a step towards moving large fleets, such as our own, towards a cleaner and greener future.

‘We’re delighted to be working with Bradford Council on such a significant project for the city and the region.”

Ofgem’s Gas Network Innovation Competition is an annual opportunity for gas network companies to compete for a pot of £20 million funding, for the development and demonstration of new technologies.

Funding is provided for projects that help “networks understand how they can deliver environmental benefits, reduced costs and maintained security of energy supply for customers, as the UK moves to a low carbon economy.”

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s portfolio holder for Healthy People and Healthy Places, said: “The Alternative Fuel Centre is an important part of our plans to reduce air pollution and reduce our carbon footprint. This grant takes us a step closer and we thankful for the work NGN have been doing to help get us to this point. We look forward to continuing to work with them to complete this project.”

The Council plans to replace 77 HGVs with compressed gas variants over the next seven years including 22 in the financial year 2021/22 – which begins in April. These would include refuse collection vehicles, articulated lorries, tankers and hook-loaders.

On average, each HGV currently consume 14,000 litres of diesel per annum and, by switching fuels, the project will achieve greenhouse gas reductions of 85 per cent for each.

It is estimated that this will reduce the Council’s fleet greenhouse gas emissions by almost 12,400 tonnes over the next seven years.

Grants for local businesses to upgrade vehicles to meet Clean Air Zone standards, including compressed gas vehicles, are proposed to be available until the end of 2021 as part of the Bradford Clean Air Plan.

In addition to the Council, Yorkshire Water has expressed an expression of interest in being an additional anchor fleet, and Northern Gas Network has committed 15 fleet vehicles to use the site.

Compressed natural gas and biomethane will remain a cost-effective alternative to diesel for hauliers into the next decade – the Treasury has fixed the fuel duty for natural gas/biomethane for vehicle use at 24.7p/kg until 2032.