Obviously, market development is required for increased use of biomethane in the transport sector, and support in the U.S. currently lags well behind that in the EU. In an article available online, a UK Environmental Audit states that “biomethane is an almost perfect renewable transport fuel.” The audit concludes that wide adoption of CNG and biomethane for transport will deliver the greatest air quality benefits at the lowest cost, especially when compared to expensive battery powered hybrid electric vehicles.

NGV refueling stations are somewhat costly to install (though not significantly more costly than a new fossil fuel station) and are only commercially viable if they refuel a significant number of vehicles — such as a fleet. Therefore the market penetration of NGVs for personal vehicles suffers from a classic problem; fuel suppliers are reluctant to construct refueling stations until there are sufficient numbers of NGVs, and consumers are unwilling to purchase the vehicles until there are sufficient refueling stations.

How do we get past this longstanding issue? A 2011 European Commission (EC) report on smart gas grids concludes that NG fueling stations can be located near their existing natural gas grid, avoiding the need for a costly build out of new gas distribution infrastructure. A similar approach might significantly reduce the overall cost of NG fueling infrastructure development, even for geographically large countries such as the U.S. However, the U.S. would still have large NG fueling gaps in areas that are not along natural gas pipeline routes, so a focus on fueling for fleets continues to make sense economically. Locating fueling hubs near fuel feedstock supplies such as landfills and waste-water treatment facilities is likely to continue as a limiting factor for biomethane use, unless national energy policy supports NG as a transportation fuel on a long term basis.

The European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative (EIBI), is a related effort underway in the EU to accelerate commercialization of advanced sustainable bioenergy. The broadest objective of this organization is to bring sustainable energy and fuel products to market at costs competitive with fossil fuels. Biomethane is one of several paths being explored to bring cost effective renewable fuels to the market; developing coherent policy that promotes a willingness for industry to invest in alternative fuels and energy is a primary task.

Find clean fuel facts about biomethane and CNG at: firmgreen.com

Links to article sources:
UK Parliament Environmental Audit Summary (opens in new window or tab)

EC Report on Smart Gas Grids – biomethane references, pp15-16 (PDF opens in new window)

European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative (EIBI) (opens in new window or tab)

Speakers from Argonne National Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory will be featured. Topics will include discussion of technologies for producing biomethane (or renewable natural gas), costs and benefits, plus opportunities for biomethane use as a transportation fuel.

Registration and more information about the webinar series is online.
click here for registration info (PDF document opens in new tab or window)

The MV Egret has landed, and FirmGreen’s latest green technology shipment was being offloaded late into the evening Monday at the port of Rio de Janeiro.

The equipment will be installed at and operate the Novo Gramacho biogas cleaning facility, creating long-term jobs and clean energy. The resulting pipeline quality natural gas fuel will significantly benefit the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and displacing the use of dirtier fuels.

Find out more about FirmGreen’s alternative energy and fuels at firmgreen.com

The MV Industrial Egret is currently traveling southeastward along the coast of Brazil at a speed of 15.6 knots. MV Egret is expected to its next port call at Itaqui over the weekend, and is approximately 222 NM out as of August 19. We’ll have the updated position of FirmGreen’s green technology every day or so as the Egret travels southeastward along the coast of Brazil, to its final destination of Rio de Janeiro, currently expected August 29th.

– POSITION UPDATE AUGUST 18 –

The MV Industrial Egret has offloaded cargo in Smalkalden Harbor and is now back in route. The MV Egret’s next stop is Port Itaqui, São Luís, Brazil, approximately 620 NM (nautical miles) away as of August 18.

The green technology aboard will be assembled once on site near Rio de Janeiro. Once operational, the facility will clean dirty landfill gas to a pipeline quality biogas —biomethane—similar to natural gas. The project will create 200 or more long-term jobs, and benefit the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and displacing the use of dirtier fuels. Find out more about FirmGreen’s alternative energy and fuels at firmgreen.com

• electricity consumes over 280,473 Btu of fossil fuel per gge
• E85 ethanol produced from corn consumes about 190,869 Btu/gge
• Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) from landfill gas consumed zero Btu/gge of fossil energy

On emissions, CNG derived from landfill gas is by far the cleanest fuel. The results below are stated in grams per equivalent gallons of gasoline (gge) of the consumed fuel for emissions:

• electricity generates 23,780 grams of emissions per gge
• E85 ethanol produced from corn generates 8,009 grams of emissions per gge
• Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) from landfill gas generates 270 grams of emissions per gge

Data Source: Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model 1.8d

Find more fuel facts at: firmgreen.com

1. Executive Order 13514 of October 5, 2009 requires that by December 31, 2015, 100% of light duty vehicles purchased by Federal fleets must be alternative fueled vehicles.
2. Federal fleets are required to determine actual vehicle needs and eliminate non-essential vehicles.
3. Agencies are required to determine and publish their vehicle inventory targets on the agency’s website within 180 days. They must also submit their plan to achieve fleet management goals by the deadline of Dec. 31, 2015.

This week’s  Presidential Memorandum isn’t just a “feel good” exercise; the Federal Government operates the largest light duty fleet in the US. Currently, military and other emergency vehicles are exempt from this order.

In 2009, Congress ultimately did not pass an Obama initiative to fight global warming, and similar legislation seems unlikely to regain priority for the administration any time soon. However, Obama has continued to press for stricter vehicle emission rules for light duty vehicles and trucks.

Read the full text of the memorandum at whitehouse.gov

The Bad News
Gone are all the tax credits for converting a vehicle to run on CNG. This includes conversion kits and re-powering heavy trucks and equipment.

The tax credit for purchasing the equipment for a fueling station has been reduced from 50% of the investment with a $50,000 cap down to 30% of the investment with a $30,000 cap

The tax credit for purchasing home refueling equipment for private use has been reduced to $1000.

The Good News
The Federal Excise Tax Rebate for the purchase of CNG as a motor vehicle fuel is back. At the end of each year a CNG fuel station owner will be able to file for a cash rebate of fifty-cents ($0.50) for each CNG gallon sold during the year. CNG is sold as “gasoline gallon equivalents” or gge. The intent of the law is to make the sales price of CNG more attractive as the station owners pass this saving on to their customers. In reality, the savings is only 31.7 cents per gallon because the CNG retailer still has to remit the Federal Road Use Tax called Federal Excise Tax. The Excise Tax has to be paid twice a month on every gallon sold except for CNG sold to cities, states, school systems, and some other non-profit organizations.

Read the rest of the commentary at firmgreen.com

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

By late afternoon the St. Louis Arch, gateway to the West, was in full view. We had jumped off of I-70 onto I-55 heading towards I-44. As you proceed towards downtown St. Louis on I-55 the specter of the Mississippi River comes suddenly, without forewarning. Looking down at the murky water, it’s measured cadence strolling towards New Orleans and the Gulf, a more genteel time comes to mind. The Mississippi, while separating us geographically, somehow binds our nation together like the seam running up the back of your Levi jacket.

Soon after crossing the Mississippi we were at the Laclede Gas Company for a fueling stop. Laclede Gas Company is the public gas utility in the St. Louis area. Laclede operates a dispensing station for CNG and they were very accommodating in refueling our shuttle. After leaving Laclede we were back on I-44 westbound heading towards Tulsa, Oklahoma. We were soon climbing into the Ozarks as the sun began to set. We crossed over into Oklahoma under full cover of night and proceeded across Cherokee nation in search of Tulsa and a moderately priced hotel room.

Check out Google Maps as we chart the trip