Arriva's UK bus, rail sites go 100% renewable with SSE

Passenger transport provider Arriva, part of Deutsche Bahn, has signed a three-year power contract with SSE Business Energy under which nearly all its bus and rail sites in the UK will use 100% renewable electricity.

Arriva said Thursday the contract will help it avoid about 27,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year. The electricity to be supplied by SSE Business Energy will come with Renewable Electricity Guarantees of Origin (REGOs), which means the consumption is matched by power fed by SSE’s wind and hydropower plants. The guarantees are independently verified by Carbon Clear.

Arriva businesses such as UK Bus, Arriva Rail North, Arriva Rail London, Chiltern Railways and Grand Central will go greener thanks to the agreement.

“This contract makes Arriva the first major transport owning Group to switch to 100% renewable electricity supply in the UK and we hope that their switch to SSE Green encourages other transport organisations to follow suit and invest in renewable energy,” said Amber McEwen, marketing director at SSE Business Energy.

Arriva has already taken steps to reduce emissions through its ‘Destination Green’ strategy in the UK. As part of it the firm operates hybrid, gas and fully electric buses with zero tailpipe emissions. Arriva began operating the first all-electric bus route in London back in 2014.

SSE Business Energy is a unit of SSE plc (LON:SSE), which had 3.3 GW of renewable energy capacity in the UK and Ireland at the end of 2017.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!