Wednesday 6 October 2021

EVs to tackle flooding

The Environment Agency has deployed electric vehicles (EVs) to carry out flood defence work, as part of the Hebden Bridge Flood Alleviation Services (FAS) project.

The project aims to improve flood protection for around 400 properties in Hebden Bridge and Calder Valley, whilst also cutting carbon emissions.

FAS will use electric cars, vans and pick-up trucks to carry out various tasks in the event of a flood and has partnered with BAM Nuttall to make the change happen.

Christian Merriman, Flood & Coastal Risk Management Advisor at the Environment Agency, said: “This is a huge and important challenge to help mitigate the effects of climate change. The use of EVs at Hebden Bridge is just one of the measures we have implemented to help achieve our target.

“Our partnership with BAM Nuttall takes us one step closer to our goal and we will continue reducing our carbon emissions for wider projects.”

Steve Hamer, Contracts Manager at BAM Nuttall, added: “I believe that this is the right thing to do to play our part in helping combat the climate crisis as much as we can.

“We’re also utilising Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil to run all our equipment on site, which reduces the use of fossil fuels, saving up to 95% of carbon emissions compared with normal fuel usage.”