Ohio State Representative John Carney stated, “We are excited to be adding Ohio green collar jobs here in Dublin, Ohio given the commitment of this great city to economic development and job creation. Congratulations to Guild Associates and FirmGreen for their vision and innovative spirit in furthering Ohio’s quest to become the nation’s leader in Green Technology.”

After the announcement, FirmGreen, Inc. and Gás Verde AS of Brazil signed an agreement under which FirmGreen will supply its patented CO2 Wash® equipment to Brazil. Guild will fabricate FirmGreen’s equipment at its Ohio factory, to be installed at the Novo Gramacho Landfill near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Read the rest of the press release at firmgreen.com

CNG is a cost-effective fueling choice for heavy-duty commercial vehicles also. A study performed for the California Air Resurces Board (CARB) analyzes costs of 2010 heavy-duty diesel and natural gas technologies, using a life-cycle cost model. The financial model predicts that the break-even points for CNG for a refuse hauler, transit bus, and short haul heavy-duty truck are $22 barrel, $31 per barrel, and $28 per barrel of crude oil, respectively, in 2010 world oil prices. The detailed report developed by TIAX, LLC, is available to review online at the their website:
View the cost comparison report (pdf opens in new window)

Augusta, Georgia’s growing landfill, still barely a speck on the 1,200 acres it has to expand, has started producing more methane than it can sell. But rather than do the minimum of investing $7 million in equipment upgrades to meet EPA requirements, the Augusta Commission is leaning toward investing $20 million to go into the business of making pipeline-quality compressed natural gas.

Last week, a city committee agreed to the issue of $20 million in bonds to fund the project. It also agreed to require the city’s next waste hauler to use trucks that run on the fuel product, known as compressed natural gas. Read the full story…

Testifying at today’s hearing, Richard Kolodziej, president of NGVAmerica told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee: “Faster growth in the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel would provide increased energy security, cleaner air, less greenhouse gas emissions, and more U.S. jobs.” Kolodziej urged the Senators to establish transportation policies that support natural gas as a transportation fuel.

Kolodziej testified before the Committee’s hearing on “Opportunities to Improve Energy Security and the Environment through Transportation Policy.” Click to read Kolodziej’s full statement

Unlike the health care debate, which split sharply along partisan lines, Senators on both sides of the aisle are working on climate legislation, and that inevitably includes the use of alternative fuels for transportation. One reason is the fact that our current dependence on imported petroleum is viewed as a national security issue as well as an environmental issue, and legislation to curb emissions is also expected to spur domestic job creation.

Senator John Kerry, (D) of Massachusetts recently stated, “Climate legislation is the single best opportunity we have to create jobs, reduce pollution and stop sending billions overseas for foreign oil from countries that would do us harm. If we sell those arguments we’ve got a winning issue on jobs, on security and on public health. This can happen.”

Stay tuned as we continue to track this issue during the 111th Congress!

NAT GAS ACT: Compare Senate and House Bills
Visit Thomas, the Library of Congress website…

We certainly appreciate Littlefair mentioning that biomethane reduces vehicle carbon emissions up to 88% on a well-to-wheels basis!

Click here to read the full letter
Click here to read the Exxon CEO interview

Does our commitment to a renewable and sustainable and secure energy future require from us a repudiation of these values? As we rolled towards the Pacific it became evident that this question should be, and will be, answered in the negative.

Our journey is finished for now: visit Google Maps to see our route across the USA

The Concept Study 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid is powered by a V8 that generates 500+ horsepower and electric motors on the front and rear axle with an output of 218 horsepower. Combined power output is an impressive 708 horsepower! On electric power alone, the 918 has a range of up to 25 km (16 miles). As with the Toyota Prius, braking causes the electric motors to operate in generator mode, recharging the vehicle’s lithium ion battery.

With a extrememly low power-to-weight ratio (less than 1,490 kg) and a mid-mounted high rpm engine, the car is designed for the sports car enthusiast: 0-100 km/h comes in just 3.2 seconds, top speed is 320 km/h (198 mph), and a lap time on the Nürburgring is less than 7:30 making it even faster than the Porsche Carrera GT.

Fuel economy? Pretty impressive: average fuel economy is about three liters per 100 kilometers (or approx 78 mpg). Vehicle emissions, as tested in Europe, were just 70 grams of CO2 per kilometer.

Of course, we would like to see Porsche develop a line of CNG or CNG hybrid vehicles…but thought you might enjoy their “Intelligent Performance” video below.

Visit the company’s YouTube page: click here

In order to gain some perspective, at Essex we dropped south off of I-40 onto the legendary and storied route 66 and continued through the Mojave towards Ludlow, California. The raw, stark beauty of the Mojave is all but stunning; the ancient rhythms of the Earth are evident there.

At Ludlow we stopped for some coffee and pie and admired the 1951 Chevy panel truck rusting silently behind the Ludlow Café. From San Bernardino to the coast we fought a deluge of rain and the notorious southern California traffic. By 1800 hours, through a rain streaked and dirty windshield we caught our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.

Check out Google Maps to view our route across the USA

We had gone 600 miles since our last fuel stop in Elk City, Oklahoma. The Clean Energy station is an unmanned operation and after swiping our credit card we fueled up our shuttle and the DyneTek/TGT trailer with 3600psi CNG. Departing the Albuquerque airport we continued west on I-40 heading into the San Mateo Mountains.

The shuttle performed well in the mountains, climbing to elevations as high as 7,000 feet, and by 1500 hours we were crossing the border into Arizona. Arizona gave our ship no quarter as we climbed a succession of ranges including the Buck Mountains, Black Mountains and the Hualapai Mountains. We made our way into Kingman Arizona around 2100 hours and decided to call it a day as the California border lay just 40 miles to the west.

Check out Google Maps as we chart the trip

At Elk City we able to take on only 3000 psi of CNG and, after fueling stopped into the Elk City Cafe for a late breakfast. While dining we talked with Chic Davis. Mr. Davis is a fourth generation rancher in the Elk City area and a collector of cowboy and western artifacts. In his shop, next door to the cafe, we marveled at his collection of vintage single action Colt revolvers, Henry Rifles, and authentic Native America artifacts. Chic also has some of the finest hand stitched horse hair bridles ever to come out of Montana State prison.

Continuing west across the Panhandle we made a pit stop in Amarillo to take on fuel from the DyneTek/TGT trailer and to refuel ourselves on some Texas size steaks. By nightfall we were entering into New Mexico and climbing in elevation towards Albuquerque.

Check out Google Maps as we chart the trip