Prince turfs garage to protect biodiesel car

Charles has hired workmen to install the synthetic material at Birkhall on Royal Deeside.

It will safeguard his environmentally-friendly Range Rover which has been converted to run on biodiesel - green fuel made from plant materials.

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When temperatures fall below -5C the fuel becomes thick and lumpy.

This can cause engineering problems and in some cases cars fail to start.

To combat this, the Prince has arranged for his garage on the Balmoral Estate to be insulated with the artificial grass, which is more commonly found on sports pitches and putting greens.

A Clarence House spokeswoman said: "The garage at Birkhall has been fitted with artificial turf and lined with panelling to maintain the temperature of the biodiesel.

"It is just for this one Range Rover at the moment but it is likely other vehicles will be converted in future.

"It is all part of a drive to make the Prince of Wales's estates more environmentally-friendly."

She added that the vehicle ran on 100 per cent biodiesel, which was quite unusual as most cars run on 5 per cent.

The move is part of a range of energy-saving measures Charles has put in place at his residences.

He has a wood chip boiler at Highgrove and has introduced energy-saving lightbulbs in his households.

Water reduction bricks have been installed in the toilet cisterns and the Highgrove dairy is now powered by solar panels.

Dr Clifford Jones, a reader in engineering at Aberdeen University, said: "Biodiesel has found wide use recently because it is carbon neutral.

"When the biodiesel becomes too cold it can fail to flow properly in the fuel system.

"Materials can become deposited from it which will cause clogging among fuel lines."

Dr Jones said that using artificial turf was a good idea as it is commonly made from recycled tyres.

He added that the tyres would otherwise have been incinerated or taken to a landfill site, causing the release of gases.