Fuel-cell Buses On Horizon
By David Burke / The Question

Whistler  moved a step closer to hosting the world's largest fleet of hydrogen fuel-cell-powered buses, drawing local officials' enthusiastic expressions of support for the chance to showcase new, sustainable technologies in Whistler during and after the 2010 Winter Olympics.

One Whistler lawmaker, though, raised concerns about the buses' reliability, saying it's "critical" that an adequate number of back-up buses be provided in the event of a wholesale failure of the untested technology.

Premier Gordon Campbell announced $45 million in funding for the production of 20 state-of-the-art fuel-cell buses and hydrogen fuelling stations in Whistler and Victoria.

The buses are to be rolled out in Whistler in late 2009, in time to showcase them during the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics. They are expected to make up the lion's share of Whistler Transit's fleet, which currently sits at 25 buses, from 2010 to 2015, said Mike Long, B.C. Ministry of Transportation spokesman.

A decision on where the buses will go after 2015 will be made at an undetermined date in the future, Long said.

Premier Campbell touted the buses as an integral part of B.C.'s plan to protect the environment and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. "This is the type of project we can look to as we move to reduce B.C.'s greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2020," he said in a statement.

Campbell made the funding announcement at the international Hydrogen and Fuel Cells 2007 event in Vancouver. Conference organizers staged a "road rally" of fuel-cell cars from the Vancouver to Whistler, stopping on Sunday (April 29) at the Telus Whistler Conference Centre.

The funding announced  is part of a federal-provincial partnership that is to see $89 million dedicated to fuel-cell technology in B.C., with Whistler touted as the northern terminus of the "Hydrogen Highway." Last November, the B.C. government  made $10 million available to kick-start the process of establishing hydrogen fuelling stations and begin pre-production of the bus fleet.

Whistler officials said they were excited about the chance for the community to serve as a showcase for Canadian know-how using a technology that is being eyed as a much more environmentally friendly option than fossil-fuel-based systems.