Photo credit: SevenStorm JUHASZIMRUS
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
Last summer I hiked in Norway with my brothers. The trip ended in the northern city of Trondheim, where on my morning walk I saw electric heavy construction equipment. I had also seen electric ferries across some fjords, and while waiting for my flight at Oslo Airport, electric vehicles on the tarmac. I wrote about this when I returned home.
Now Bloomberg has taken notice of this quiet revolution, which has spread to London. As reporter Feargus O’Sullivan writes, “There’s something slightly uncanny about seeing the Takeuchi TB20e at work. Watching the excavator tear through an East London sidewalk, where it is currently being trialed by UK construction company Falco and electricity distributor UK Power Networks, it’s the sound of its motor that stands out. Instead of the familiar clatter of a diesel engine, it emits only a barely perceptible hum.”
Electric heavy construction vehicles can be used indoors because the exhaust isn’t a problem. The main benefits, though, are cleaner and quieter urban air. Unlike diesel-powered equipment, electric equipment doesn’t need time to warm up, and it’s vibration-free.
O’Sullivan goes on to write: “A wave of electrification is sweeping the construction industry, fueled not just by environmental concerns and tightening pollution mandates but also by demands for machinery that is less disruptive than the diesel-powered standard.” Oslo is a trailblazer, as 85% of the city’s municipal construction sites are emissions-free. The Norwegian government, which has been a global leader in the transition to electric passenger vehicles, now allows all cities to establish zero-emission zones mandating electrified construction equipment. Bloomberg reports that London is considering new rules to encourage the move to electric equipment.
Battery life and power lines for equipment not using batteries are issues, and the transition to electric heavy construction equipment will take some time, but the reductions in noise and gaseous and particulate emissions — unwanted side effects of the internal combustion engine — are clearly beneficial.
A quieter world, with cleaner air, will be a better and healthier world for all. We hope this quiet electric revolution will soon spread to the United States.
