gCNG® blog » vehicle emissions

Biomethane Fleets in the News

gCNG host — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 01:01:09 +0000

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) plan to run delivery trucks on biomethane for the London 2012 Olympic Games throughout the event, as part of its efforts to significantly reduce vehicle emissions for is fleet. The company has already been testing biomethane fuel in the United Kingdom (UK), with the fuel derived from landfill gas at a landfill facility in Surrey.

CCE has been so pleased with the results thus far that it plans to target its heavy duty fleet for conversion/replacement to run on biomethane.
More on this story at roadtransport.com

Waste Management (WM) rolled out its 1000th natural gas powered refuse truck just a few days ago, celebrating with a ceremony at its Carson, California fleet yard. With this vehicle, a full third of WM’s fleet is now powered with biomethane. The clean biomethane fuel is being sourced from a landfill in Livermore, California.

Are Electric Vehicles Green?

gCNG host — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 21:11:04 +0000

Why the push for electric vehicles? Are they clean environmentally and/or an efficient use of fossil fuel energy? Not really! A study examining the “Well to Wheels” energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of various Alternative Fuels found the following in terms of Btu per gasoline gallon equivalent (gge) of consumed fuel:

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

New Vehicle Labels Provide More Info on Fuel Costs & Emission

gCNG host — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:17:10 +0000

On May 25, 2011 regulation was signed that requires automakers to implement new vehicle labels by 2013 – manufacturers can voluntarily adopt the new label earlier.

What does this mean for you? The new labels are intended to provide consumers with much more accurate information about the actual costs of fueling the vehicle of their choice over the next five years compared to the average new vehicle. For the first time, consumers will be able to compare energy use and emissions for new vehicles – side by side – including comparison between gasoline and electric, plug-in hybrids and other alternative fuels.

The new label features meaningful comparison of tailpipe emissions, and the energy factors that were used to create the rating. Consumers will be able to scan a barcode on the label with their smartphone at the car dealership to get information specific to their location in terms of electricity and/or local fuel costs, provided they have downloaded the scanner app. The same information will be available at fueleconomy.gov.

The bottom line is that the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are trying to give consumers the best information possible to understand the total costs of their new vehicle purchase, from fuel economy to environmental impact.
Learn more at fueleconomy.gov

NAFA Seeks Tax Credits for Clean Fleets

gCNG host — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:49:03 +0000

A proposal to allow state and local government vehicle fleets the ability to take advantage of federal tax credits was sent to the leadership of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee by NAFA’s Executive Director, Phil Russo, CAE, last week. The proposal by NAFA would allow for an Energy and Environmental Vehicle Payroll Tax Credit to be made available to state, local government, and other tax exempt entities whenever vehicle tax credits are available to regular taxpayers for clean fuel or low-emission vehicles. Read the article

New study shows benefits of converting fleets to natural gas

gCNG host — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:50:16 +0000

A newly released report by the Sustainable Transportation and Communities group at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), an Ann Arbor-based nonprofit research organization, examines the economic and environmental contributions of converting corporate fleets from gasoline to compressed natural gas (CNG) and hybrid vehicles. Read more…

Read the full report here… (PDF document opens in new browser tab or window)