Seaworld's Latest Environmental Initiative
SeaWorld continues to lead the theme park industry along the road of environmental responsibility with the addition of two new hydrogen-fueled shuttles. SeaWorld is working with Ford Motor Company, Chevron Technology Ventures, Progress Energy and the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Florida Energy Office as part of a pilot program working to determine the efficiency and application of hydrogen-fueled vehicles.
“We are honored to be part of this innovative pilot program and have a role in the effort to find alternative fuel sources,” said Dan Brown, SeaWorld’s executive vice president and general manager. “Conservation has always been part of SeaWorld’s DNA and this is one of the many initiatives we are committed to as a company.”
These Ford E-450 shuttles are powered by internal combustion V-10 engines that are modified to run on hydrogen, rather than gasoline. Compared with today's gasoline engines, these deliver up to 99.7 percent reduction in C02 emissions and include many of the benefits of a hydrogen fuel cell, but at a fraction of the cost.
“These buses represent part of Ford Motor Company’s strategy to deliver transportation solutions that emit less CO 2 and reduce our dependence on oil,” said Sue Cischke, Ford senior vice president. Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering. “We are pleased to partner with SeaWorld to place these buses into service so that visitors will be able to experience this unique form of clean transportation.”
SeaWorld will use the buses on a daily basis for the next two years, shuttling employees between SeaWorld, Discovery Cove and Aquatica.
To help increase the knowledge about hydrogen-fueled vehicles and their impact on the environment, each morning SeaWorld will record the amount of miles and the amount of hydrogen fuel that was used the previous day and compare those figures to the gasoline-fueled buses. This data will be submitted to Ford and Chevron Technology Ventures for their review and measurement.
Ford is delivering 30 buses to customers across North America as part of a test fleet. The first vehicles for the U.S. were delivered in May 2007 to the Greater Orlando Airport Authority (GOAA) and the Orlando Convention Central District.
