An examination of fuel consumption trends in construction projects

Recent estimates of fuel consumption in construction projects are highly variable. Lack of standards for reporting at both the equipment and project levels make it difficult to quantify the magnitude of fuel consumption and the associated opportunities for efficiency improvements in construction projects. In this study, we examined clusters of Environmental Impact Reports for seemingly similar construction projects in California. We observed that construction projects are not characterized consistently by task or equipment. We found wide variations in estimates for fuel use in terms of tasks, equipment, and overall projects, which may be attributed in part to inconsistencies in methodology and parameter ranges. Our analysis suggests that standardizing fuel consumption reporting and estimation methodologies for construction projects would enable quantification of opportunities for efficiency improvements at both the equipment and project levels. With increasing emphasis on reducing fossil fuel consumption, it will be important to quantify opportunities to increase fuel efficiency, including across the construction sector.