Cllr Reilly calling on Louth County Council to replace fossil fuels with HVO biodiesel

Cllr John Reilly has tabled a motion calling on Louth County Council to phase out the use of fossil fuels in their commercial vehicles over the course of 2023 and to be replaced with Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) biodiesel as a green alternative.

This switch will drastically reduce the carbon footprint of Louth County Council believes Cllr Reilly, who says that this is just a stepping stone in reducing the carbon footprint of the council. HVO is a great first step in achieving this in combination with the use of electric vehicles, he believes.

Cllr Reilly says that there is data to prove that 12 vehicles running on HVO biodiesel is the equivalent of one truck running on conventional auto diesel. 

The Dundalk-Carlingford councillor, who has had over 30 years of experience in the oil business, claims that we are now at a game-changing moment regarding substitutes for conventional diesel. He feels this is a golden opportunity for Louth County Council to be one of the first local authorities in the country to phase out the use of fossil fuels in their commercial vehicles. 

Cllr Reilly says that 2023 is the ideal time as HVO biodiesel is now commercially available in large quantities and can be sourced conveniently. No changes are needed to the vehicles or to the storage facilities needed for storing HVO. He believes this will have a massive impact on the carbon footprint of Louth County Council in the coming year and, to the best of his knowledge, no other local authority has gone down this green alternative road just yet.