The council explained this will save up to 400 litres of fuel and more than a tonne of carbon emissions annually, contributing to its efforts to reach net zero by 2030.
The local authority said that it has teamed up with technology firm TRAILAR, which will provide the “ultra-thin solar panels to be fitted to the roof space of existing or new vehicles”.
The move follows the council’s launch of its ‘Climate Action Now’ plan, launched in 2021, which “underpins the council’s strategy to achieve net zero”.
Technology
The technology is said to reduce emissions by reducing fuel consumption, where the solar energy is powering all onboard equipment.
This was done in partnership with Totally Local Company, Stockport-based specialist services provider which operates the council’s bin lorries. The company does both commercial and household waste collections.
The council explained that TRAILAR technology has now been installed on six bin lorries in Stockport, which collect household waste.
The local authority added that more savings could be made from the “benefits of improved battery care and a vehicle tracking system that allows performance to be checked in real time through the systems telematics platform”.
‘Carbon neutral’
Cllr Mark Roberts, cabinet member for climate change and environment at Stockport council, said: “We want Stockport to be carbon neutral by 2038 and we’re working hard to make it a greener, smarter, more enterprising place. When the opportunity was presented to work with a local firm and their market leading environmental technology, we couldn’t turn it down.
“This technology harnesses solar energy to reduce the volume of fuel required to generate the power that runs all on-board electrical equipment minimising the vehicles emissions.”
He added that “the telematics platform will allow us to accurately gauge the benefit that Stockport is obtaining from Solar”.
Ian Hulme, business development manager at TRAILAR, commented: “I’m really pleased that TRAILAR has now started to support the decarbonisation of the refuse truck fleet in Stockport. I’m looking forward to working closely with Stockport Council and Totally Local Company to increase the fleets utilisation of our solar technology, to tackle air quality and fossil fuel emissions.”
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