New ‘green’ Cat for Veolia

Leading waste-management contractor takes delivery of the UK’s first Caterpillar D7E electric drive dozer

VEOLIA Environmental Services, one of the UK’s leading recycling and waste-management companies, have strengthened their green credentials by acquiring the UK’s first Caterpillar D7E electric drive dozer from Finning. 

Replacing an old Cat D8T, the new Cat D7E has already been put to work at Veolia’s Rainham landfill site in Essex, where it is expected to deliver a significant reduction in operational costs. One of the key advantages is the dozer’s highly energy-efficient engine creating the potential saving of 10-30% less fuel per hour than other equivalent dozers, saving thousands of pounds each year.

The D7E electric drive system has a Cat C9.3 engine. Instead of powering a mechanical transmission, the engine drives a generator, which turns the mechanical engine power into AC electricity. The electric current flows through heavy-duty power cables and connectors into a power inverter. Here, some of the current is converted to DC current for the various machine systems.

The rest of the AC current is routed to the drive motors which power the final drives. All of these electric drive components are sealed against the environment and liquid cooled to ensure the whole system performs efficiently and reliably in the most demanding dozer applications.

The D7E also produces noise levels 50% lower than previous models, largely because its electric drive train reduces the need for the engine to rev at high levels. This can help contractors comply with local noise restrictions. Likewise, interior cab noise levels during operation are as low as 73dB, which helps keep operators more comfortable and reduces operator fatigue.

Finning strategic account manager Jonathan Davies said: ‘Veolia Environmental Services are at the forefront of technological advances in recycling and waste management and for their business to put its trust in Finning and Caterpillar equipment, shows how serious a player the Cat D7E can be in this market. Early reports show that there is already a significant drop in their fuel usage. Operators are also extremely happy with the machine, praising the greater control and manoeuvrability, which leads to less operator fatigue.’