The proportion of buses running on biomethane in Tallinn has exceeded 50% for the first time
The strategic goal of Tallinna Linnatranspordi AS has been to switch all the city’s gas buses to domestic biofuel. If the share of biofuel in previous years has fluctuated around 30%, this year it has exceeded the 50% mark for the first time.
According to TLT board member Kaido Padari, significant progress in the use of biomethane has been realized thanks to the growth of local biomethane production. “We use all the biomethane delivered by Bioforce Infra OÜ and increase its consumption according to the increase in the quantities offered by our contractual partner,” explained Padar.
Henry Uljas, chairman of the board of Bioforce Group OÜ, confirms that TLT’s guaranteed demand for biomethane has promoted the introduction of this nature-friendly fuel and created a favorable ground for investment in starting new production capacities. “In addition to the Aravete biomethane plant, a production unit in Ebavere is about to be launched, and in five years, our goal is to produce already 600 GWh of biomethane, which would cover the entire local transport demand. However, as the biggest supporter of the transition to biomethane, we hope to fully satisfy the needs of TLT within the next couple of years,” Uljas explains the perspectives of the transition to biomethane.
“TLT as a company strongly believes in the environment, and it is important for us to achieve a complete transition from the current 50% to biomethane as a pollution-free fuel, based on environmentally friendly principles,” Kaido Padar explains the reasons behind this important innovation. “In Estonia, pig and cattle manure, sludge from sewage treatment plants and biodegradable waste, i.e., raw material, which under normal conditions emits methane, which is 28 times more dangerous than atmospheric CO₂ are used to produce biogas. Based on this, biomethane can be considered a fuel with zero emissions. We act for clean city air by representing a new culture of green fuel consumption in the local transport sector. We also support the production of biomethane from domestic sources,” Padar describes the importance of prioritizing biomethane.
In total, AS Tallinna Linnatransport consumed 1,841,506.90 kg or 28,241 MWh of biomethane in 6 months of this year. All the biomethane produced in the factories of Bioforce Group OÜ and EKT Ecobio OÜ, as well as a significant part of the production of Rohegaas OÜ, went into TLT buses. By the end of the year, 60% of the fuel needs of TLT gas buses will be covered with biomethane. In 2025, domestic biomethane production should reach the amount that can satisfy 100% of the fuel consumption of TLT gas buses.
