North Shore trains to run 100% on renewables by 2027

What happened: The NSW Government has signed a $1.9 billion contract that will ensure its electric public transport fleet will run on clean energy by 2027. 

The energy contract was awarded to Snowy Energy, a subsidiary of Snowy Hydro.

How does it work?: Snowy Hydro is not sending renewable electricity directly to the train and metro. But any electricity used by NSW public transport services will be replaced on the grid by solar, wind and hydro power generated by Snowy Hydro.  

The government claims this deal will allow it to avoid over 800,000 tonnes of Co2 emissions annually, compared to using fossil fuels.

What about buses: John Bradfield led the electrification of the Sydney train network in 1915, with electric buses rolled out more than 100 years later. 

The approximately 1,000 electric buses currently on Sydney roads will now be powered by renewables, but diesel buses won’t be fully phased out in Sydney until 2035, and nearly 2050 statewide.

Ferries in NSW also run on fossil fuels, but the state government says it plans to replace these with “modern vessels powered by green energy” by 2035.

Thumbnail: Transport for NSW, NSW Government