A fleet of bulldozers, excavators, and dump trucks have been working for months to prep the ground for the start of what will be the largest facilities project in Yale’s modern history: the Upper Science Hill Development. When completed in 2030, an expansive series of new and renovated buildings will serve as a hub for Yale’s work in quantum and materials science, physics, applied physics, advanced instrumentation development, and other emerging scientific fields.
With its trucks and hard-hats, the Science Hill job site resembles any other, with one key difference: there are no plumes of black exhaust pumping out of the machines. That’s because the construction equipment is running on R-99 fuel, a cleaner burning alternative to diesel that is made from waste cooking oils.
Sometimes referred to as “renewable diesel” or “green diesel,” R-99 can be used directly in place of petroleum-based diesel or blended with it. Yale’s construction contractors are using R-99 on Science Hill as part of the university’s multifaceted climate action strategy to reduce campus emissions to zero no later than 2050.
Read the full story at Yale Sustainability