Waste company Panda has opened its new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) station in Cappagh in Dublin 11. Developed in partnership with Gas Networks Ireland, the new station brings the number of CNG stations in Ireland to 12.
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and renewable biomethane (BioCNG) offer a practical and scalable pathway to reducing emissions as they are cleaner, more sustainable fuel alternatives to diesel.
There are now over 170 gas-powered HGVs on Irish roads, with demand rising – gas usage by HGVs increased by over 90% in the past year.
Today’s opening also marks the official launch of the Green Renewable Agricultural Zero Emissions (GRAZE) Vehicle Grant Scheme, a Government-funded initiative, administered by Gas Networks Ireland.
The GRAZE €750,000 grant scheme offers financial support to fleet operators switching to gas powered HGVs and will provide up to €10,000 per vehicle, covering up to 40% of the cost difference between a diesel and a gas fuelled commercial HGV.
A total of 75 grants will be available under the first phase of the scheme.
Brian Bolger, Group Operations Director at Panda, said the company currently have 32 CNG-powered HGVs and plan to add another 24 to the fleet within the next two years, as part of its plan to achieve net zero for our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2040.
“Our trucks that use the Cappagh facility serve waste collections in the Fingal area, and within the next 12 months, all of our bin trucks in Fingal will operating on CNG and eventually moving to BioCNG,” he said.
He added that as a circular economy business, Panda was proud to be part of the solution to decarbonise the HGV sector in Ireland by providing the infrastructure that will help grow the use of CNG – and ultimately renewable gas.
The Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy and Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said that Ireland’s transport sector is a cornerstone of the economy.
He noted that while passenger cars are increasingly shifting to electric, the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) sector requires alternative low emission fuels where electrification is not a viable solution.
He said the growth of CNG and BioCNG signals a clear shift towards cleaner freight transport.
“I warmly welcome the increasing demand, the infrastructure investment and the launch of the CNG GRAZE grant scheme, which will support more businesses in making the switch,” he added.
Gas Networks Ireland’s Director of Customer and Business Development, David Kelly, said the country’s commercial transport fleet may represent just 3% of vehicles on our roads, but it is responsible for approximately 20% of all transport related carbon emissions.
“Decarbonising this sector is therefore critical to achieving our national climate targets. Gas-fuelled vehicles offer a practical and proven pathway to delivering immediate emissions reductions,” he said.
“We’ve partnered with some of the country’s leading forecourt operators and haulage companies to make low carbon gas a viable, accessible fuel alternative for Irish transport operators, with strategic locations across Dublin, Cavan, Limerick and Tipperary,” he added.
