31 January 2023

Bus depots to power up in $26 million project to support electric fleet

| Ian Bushnell
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electric bus

The ACT’s first electric bus is now on the road and more are coming. Photo: ACT Government.

Woden and Tuggeranong bus depots will be wired up to charge as many as 300 electric buses, with the ACT Government announcing a start on the electrical infrastructure required to transition to a zero-emissions fleet.

At a cost of $26.3 million over three years, utility company Evoenergy will install high voltage cables spanning 11.9 kilometres to support the new Woden Bus Depot, with the capacity to charge up to 100 buses, and upgrade Tuggeranong depot to charge up to 200 buses.

The two depots will be connected via two new 11 kV dedicated underground feeders from Evoenergy’s Wanniassa Zone substation to help manage maximum demand of up to 12.2 megavolt amperes (MVA) at Tuggeranong and 5.1 MVA at Woden.

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The design phase of these works commenced this month and is on track to be completed in the first half of this year ahead of construction.

Evo Energy says that construction works on the cables for both depots should be finished around mid-2024 in time for the planned delivery of the next tranche of electric buses being procured.

The new Woden depot in Phillip is expected to be completed in late 2024.

The government says that with the first of Canberra’s 12 leased electric buses now on the road, the announcement locks in the supporting electrical infrastructure required to operate the 90 electric buses under procurement which the Territory will own.

There is still no firm timeline for these 90 buses to be delivered, but they are expected within three years.

Work is progressing on internal electric works at the Tuggeranong and Belconnen Bus Depots to increase electrical capacity to enable more flexible charging arrangements in the short term.

Each of the 12 leased buses will be able to travel up to 400 kilometres a day and be charged overnight for between three-and-a-half and four hours. The 11 still to be deployed are being kitted out for service.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the $26 million investment was part of the government’s plan to electrify public transport, reduce emissions and lower the ongoing operating costs of the bus fleet.

“Importantly, we have made this investment through the Budget so that the impacts of transitioning to a zero-emission public transport network are not passed onto Canberrans through their household electricity bills,” he said.

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Transport and City Services Minister Chris Steel said the project meant the government could progressively roll out new bus technology across the city over the coming years to grow the zero-emission fleet.

“This is a significant day for public transport in Canberra as we transition to zero-emission transport,” he said.

“Our transition plan has never just been about buying electric buses, it is about building the grid and charging infrastructure to support them and upskilling our staff to maintain and operate this new technology.”

Mr Steel said the electric buses would integrate with an expanded, mass-transit light rail network, with both transport modes running on 100 per cent renewable electricity.

“Our combined investments represent the biggest improvement to Canberra’s public transport system in a generation,” he said.

“This will give every Canberran the opportunity to play their part in taking real action on climate change and provide more comfortable and convenient ways to get around our city,” he said.

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The already green power supplies are already being used. This creates extra load on the NSW grid and is going to met by extra coal generation. Its not like we bring on extra renewable power when there is increased demand, the extra is 100% coal.

If we had the extra to bring online. it would just offset the existing coal generation.
This is true until we have have so much renewables that we can just turn them off when we don’t need them.

100% coal powered bus

There is no “NSW” grid and there are many other electricity sources being used than coal, whose share of generation is dropping year on year as renewables and other dispatchable power sources take over.

As below, EVs powered from Coal have lower emissions than diesel vehicles, so there’s already a benefit with the current generation mix. As Coal plants are retired and replaced by generation sources with no/low emissions, the benefit ramps up even further.

“As Coal plants are retired and replaced by generation sources with no/low emissions, the benefit ramps up even further.”
That’s true – there a no emissions from stationary electric buses with flat batteries that can’t be charged until the sun comes out again (unless they spontaneously catch fire)

Victor Bilow2:43 pm 31 Jan 23

“Importantly, we have made this investment through the Budget so that the impacts of transitioning to a zero-emission public transport network are not passed onto Canberrans through their household electricity bills,” he said. I Wonder who funds the BUDGET? Oh! ACT TAX PAYERS, unless he has a money tree we dont know about.

Capital Retro9:55 am 31 Jan 23

“Each of the 12 leased buses will be able to travel up to 400 kilometres a day and be charged overnight for between three-and-a-half and four hours”

So, what is the point in having the bus depot roofs covered in solar panels?

The energy they get for their overnight charging will mainly be from coal-fired generation.

What an expensive joke.

Whilst I’m not a massive fan of the timing of this expenditure, it was always going to happen, it’s just a question of when.

But your comment also belays a significant level of ignorance into the electricity grid, market and emissions profiles of EV’s.

“So, what is the point in having the bus depot roofs covered in solar panels?”

To produce energy that can be used in the grid, either offsetting their own usage or onsold to other users. It’s quite simple and no one has said that the solar panels are to directly provide significant amounts of electricity to charge the buses. It’s simply utilising an existing space well suited for PV generation.

“The energy they get for their overnight charging will mainly be from coal-fired generation.”

Which firstly creates less overall emissions than if they were diesel powered right now, so you get an immediate improvement. Then secondly it sets up nicely as the grid transitions away from coal and other fossil fuels in the next couple of decades as is already happening.

So what exactly are you complaining about?

100% of the ACT’s power is supplied by renewable energy. The solar panels provide power into the grid and used afterwards just like all solar panels.

Victor Bilow2:51 pm 31 Jan 23

100% ? This is a tricky one. As the vast majority of the electricity produced on the grid is from non-renewable sources, the power that Canberrans consume at any time may well have been generated by burning coal or gas.

Capital Retro7:11 pm 31 Jan 23

I may be ignorant about your obsession with supporting unproven and subsidised concepts but I am not stupid in seeing through the taxpayer funded virtual signaling that is in play now.

upto 400km a day. .Or about 300 with aircon / heating.

7am. Drive bus at average 70km/h for 4 hours.
11am Recharge bus
3pm Drive bus at average 70km/h for 4 hours.
7pm Recharge bus.

Drivers that forget to refill their bus can be seen on the side of the road waiting for the jerry can. Assume the electric buses would just get towed back to the depo using a diesel tow truck?

Capital Retro,
There’s only one of us who has an obsession and it isn’t me.

Nice attempt to avoid the points raised and questions though, although it’s obvious why you did so.

Don’t want to have to confront your lack of knowledge and blatantly incorrect statements now, do you.

Gooterz, where on earth are you seeing buses that drive an average of 70km/hr on a shift?

I barely make an average of 50km/hr in my car and I’m driving directly to places on major roads and not stopping to pick up passengers on suburban streets.

Capital Retro1:44 pm 01 Feb 23

There used to be an old saying “knowledge is power”. That was coal power.

If music was BS chewy, you would be a brass band.

Another comment avoiding the points I see.

Hilarious that you can’t even answer simple questions, constantly post wrong and discredited information but you think my comments are BS.

Do you write these comments looking at a mirror?

“The solar panels provide power into the grid and used afterwards just like all solar panels.”
Er, no, that’s not how electricity works – it doesn’t just keep going around the grid until you’re ready to use it.

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