The WWTP gas station already supplies half a dozen municipal and water service vehicles

The 'gas station' installed at Benidorm Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) supplies biomethane to half a dozen water service and municipal vehicles, which thus use fuel of renewable and more sustainable origin. The Councilor for the Water Cycle and Mobility, José Ramón González de Zárate; today visited the WWTP facilities together with the manager of Hidraqua in Benidorm, Ciriaco Clemente, the head of the plant, Mª José Martínez, and the chief municipal engineer, Vicente Mayor, to check the operation of this 'gas station', operational since 2020 and which currently supplies fuel to six vehicles.

As explained, biomethane is the energy of renewable origin that is extracted from the biogas that is generated in the facilities themselves by the water purification process. With the recovery of products derived from purification, in this case, biogas, sustainability and the circular economy are promoted, "fundamental aspects in our sustainable development policy".

De Zárate, for his part, stressed that "with the start-up of this 'gas station' and the use of biomethane, the carbon footprint of the fleet of vehicles rigged for water service is reduced by not having to resort to other fuels more pollutants, while also reducing dependence on external resources”.

As detailed, “both the water service vehicles and the municipal one that works with gas have the ECO label from the General Directorate of Traffic that certifies that they emit less CO2 emissions than conventional vehicles and that consequently, they are more respectful with the environment". Specifically, the municipal vehicle "generates 25% less CO2 emissions and 75% less NOX, while the particles and SO2 emissions are practically zero".

De Zárate recalled that "in recent years, from municipal concessionaires such as Hidraqua and the City Council itself, there has been a firm commitment to sustainable mobility and the acquisition of less polluting vehicles that use alternative energies to gasoline and the diesel”. "We are talking about electric vehicles, hybrids or, as in this case, that run on gas, with the clear objective of reducing emissions and carbon footprint", he specified.

The biomethane production unit and the corresponding vehicle station is one of the improvements included in the WWTP contract, where photovoltaic energy systems have also been implemented. This investment has been assumed by the management company of the facilities, Aquambiente.