Thinking ahead on diesel storage

However, new legislation now means that the formulation of red diesel is changing and, as Kenny Berrie, technical manager at generator specialist, Dieselec Thistle, explains, these changes will require a new approach to storing standby diesel supplies if hospitals are to avoid the costs and business continuity risks of stagnation.

In any hospital environment there is a mandatory requirement for 200 hours of fuel autonomy to ensure that essential patient services can remain operational even if there is a power outage, natural disaster, or a problem with getting fuel supply into the grounds. Purchasing this fuel represents an investment of tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of pounds, depending on the size and requirements of the individual site. Historically, however, fuel could remain in bulk storage tanks in useable condition for several years. What is more, if, for any reason, the hospital needed to use some of its standby fuel reserves, the hospital estates team could simply top up the bulk storage tank, and once again be ready for all eventualities for another 200 hours. As of January 2011, however, there have been some seemingly small, but actually very significant, changes to this status quo. The introduction of EU Directive 2009/30/EU now demands the use of low sulphur red diesel for use in non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), which includes equipment such as tractors, forestry equipment, construction equipment, and inland waterway vessels. The changes have been introduced in order to ensure reliable operation of pollutant emissions control systems, which have also been mandatory since the beginning of 2011 to help NRMM equipment meet EU air quality requirements.

Low sulphur fuels