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DesignLine Orders Capstone MicroTurbines for Electric Buses in Denver
Green Technology Featured Articles
April 11, 2013

DesignLine Orders Capstone MicroTurbines for Electric Buses in Denver

By Christopher Mohr
TMCnet Contributing Writer

Capstone (News - Alert) Turbine Corporation announced on Monday that bus manufacturer DesignLine ordered a total of 34 C30 MicroTurbines. These turbines will be used in a fleet of Eco Saver IV electric buses that DesignLine is building for the Denver Regional Transportation District.


Charlotte, NC-based DesignLine builds environmentally friendly, fuel efficient transit vehicles. Their vehicles can be found in the US in Charlotte, Denver, Arlington (VA) and New Jersey. Outside of the US, DesignLine buses are used in Australia, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Japan and the UK.

The Eco Saver IV buses run on electricity supplied by lithium ion batteries. The Capstone C30 MicroTurbine is rated for 30 kW and will run on clean diesel or biodiesel and recharge the batteries when low. A regenerative braking system takes heat energy from the brakes and converts it to energy that can be stored in the batteries, thereby extending the vehicle's range.

Capstone Turbine Corporation is based in Chatsworth, CA (News - Alert) in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. In addition to the C30, they also produce the C65 (65 kW) and C200 (200 kW). These turbines can run on natural gas, diesel, biodiesel, flare gas, propane and kerosene.

In addition to their environmental benefits, the Eco Saver IV buses are also passenger friendly. Three doors allow large groups of people to enter and exit the bus quickly and a low floor level eliminates the need to climb steps to enter the vehicle, especially helpful for passengers with disabilities.

Two DesignLine buses using Capstone MicroTurbines have already been in service for a year in downtown Denver. These two buses combined with the 34 buses in the latest order will replace 36 TransTeq buses that have been in service for 14 years.

The addition of the Eco Saver IV buses to Denver’s public transit is part of a continuing trend that has allowed the Mile High City to shed its reputation for having some of the worst air pollution in the US. In the 1970s and 80s, Denver was in violation of EPA pollution levels an average of about 200 days per year. Today, Denver does not appear in any rankings for U.S. cities with the worst air pollution. Continuing to use environmentally friendly solutions like these buses will help the city keep it that way.




Edited by Brooke Neuman


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