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Infrastructure

Will Natural Gas Powered Vehicles Ever Become Mainstream?

Considering that America has some of the biggest natural gas reserves in the world, and gasoline has become extremely expensive in the past few years, it makes a lot of sense to start using it as vehicle fuel on a larger scale. But, while the benefits of using natural gas as an alternative to gasoline are multi-fold, as it reduces carbon dioxide emissions substantially, it costs much less than gasoline, and it can help end U.S. dependence on foreign oil, the number of vehicles that run on natural gas is pretty low, especially when compared to other countries that have vast reserves of this energy source, such as Iran, Argentina and Brazil.

Currently, there are a bit over 140,000 natural gas vehicles in America, but the vast majority of them are fleet cars, with very few passenger vehicles. Most of the vehicles that run on natural gas in the U.S. are transit buses, but lately, waste management and logistic companies have been increasingly including natural gas trucks in their fleets, as well. The main reason why there are so few natural gas vehicles is that the number of refuelling stations that have been put in place so far is not nearly enough to cater to a much larger fleet. At the moment, there are about 1,300 stations across the United States, with some of them being available to the public, and others only being used by private companies or government agencies.

Most of these stations are located in California, which has the strictest emission standards in the country, and actively promotes the use of alternative fuel vehicles. California offers various incentives that are supposed to encourage more consumers to buy natural gas vehicles. There are tax credits, grants, and fuel credits, which should help make more people switch from gasoline to natural gas.

In addition to California, Texas is another state that is ramping up its efforts for adoption of natural gas vehicles. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has created the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, which includes the Alternative Fueling Facilities Program, and provides grants for building and installation of natural gas stations. Those who are willing to install a compressed natural gas station, can apply for grants of up to $100,000, liquefied gas stations are eligible for $250,000, whereas the installation of stations that will provide both compressed and liquefied gas are supported with state grants of up to $400,000.

While these efforts alone can’t make NGVs a truly viable alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles, they are a good place to start. But, a more widespread adoption of NGVs can only happen if car makers start building them in large quantities, which won’t happen before a proper infrastructure is established. Energy companies, for their part, are not willing to invest in natural gas refueling stations until there are enough such vehicles on U.S. roadways that would make their investment economically justified, which leads to the same chicken-and-egg sort of situation that other alternative fuel vehicles are facing, such as hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars.

In any case, given that there will be abundant supplies of natural gas for decades to come, NGVs are expected to become commonplace, provided that gasoline continues to be far more expensive than natural gas, and auto-makers continue to develop the technology and try to reduce the costs for production of these vehicles.

Article by Jordan, appearing courtesy 2GreenEnergy.

July 31, 2014 2 comments

Official Statements of Support for China EV Industry Won’t Do the Trick

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Being a China watcher always involves parsing official statements to figure out who has the upper hand in Beijing and, if someone has some clout, what that person’s stand on an issue is. So I have been watching statements by Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang and Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei to figure out where each stands and who might carry the day.

Suddenly, however, a new official – more important than the above two — has burst on the scene voicing strong support for the electric vehicle industry. Alas, I don’t think his support will result in a sudden rush of EV purchases.

The latest official to weigh in on the future of EVs in China is Ma Kei, a vice premier and Politburo member. Let me thank my friend and former colleague Yang Jian for his column in Automotive News China that helped me figure out the impact of statements by vice premier Ma Kai. Yang Jian says Ma is senior to both Miao and Wan and that he was instrumental in convincing the central government to cut purchase subsidies for battery-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by only 5 percent this year rather than the originally planned 10 percent. Ma apparently decided to push for the smaller cut in subsidies after visiting three local companies producing EVs, BYD Co, Jianghuai Automobile Co. , and Chery Automobile Co. , in early January.

Besides urging more central government support for EV purchases, Ma hit on the other key points to putting more EVs on China’s roads: More use in public transportation fleets; more charging stations; less local protectionism. He also suggested waiving the 10 percent new vehicle purchase sales tax for EVs.

A bit of background: Last September, the central government issued a revised subsidy policy for electric vehicles which said that subsidies for various electric vehicles would decrease over the next two years. The 60,000 RMB subsidy for battery electric passenger vehicles was to decrease by 10 percent in 2014 and 20 percent in 2015. Subsidies of up to 35,000 RMB for plug-in hybrid electric passenger vehicles would fall by the same percentages.

Apparently Ma Kai has managed to get those reductions revised to 5 percent in 2014 and 10 percent in 2015. And government support for the EV industry will continue after 2015, though details weren’t given.

That’s great. But it won’t be enough to get Chinese consumers to buy electric vehicles in any volume. The initial subsidies did not encourage EV purchases in 2013 when some 17,600 plug-in electric vehicles were sold in China, including battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric. Most of those sales were almost certainly fleet vehicles. Chinese consumers still worry about the high price of vehicles that depend on technology they consider risky, not to mention the lack of a charging infrastructure.

Ma’s support won’t change that. What such statements do accomplish in China is to reassure companies that are producing or could produce electric vehicles that the government will still put their money where their mouth is. That will be enough to keep China’s automakers continuing to play lip service to their grand plans for EV production in order to get a piece of that EV subsidy money.

According to a supplier friend of mine, an executive at a large multinational supplier, what he hears from the local automakers is that they will keep trumpeting their plans to produce EVs, and producing some, to show Beijing they are ready to produce a lot of EVs if necessary, to meet stiffer fuel efficiency requirements for example (the U.S. automakers will be nodding their heads). “We do this as long as the government is funding it,” said an exec at one Chinese automaker.

Ma’s statements are still a positive in the overall picture, of course. It tips the scales on the side of optimism. Wan Gang has generally been more positive about EVs than Miao Wei though both talk about EVs as the future. Both worry about a factor that will certainly slow the growth of China’s EV sector and stifle competition and thus innovation – local protectionism.

Said Wan Gang: With the production and sales numbers of new energy vehicles China saw in 2013, “we can’t hope to realize the goal of 500,000” NEVs on the road by 2015. Between cooperation and competition, one is not more important than the other in growing the EV sector, said Wan. “Local protectionism is the biggest obstruction to more growth,” said Wan. Miao Wei also worried about local protectionism but perhaps more realistically ruminated on the need for less expensive technology to truly grow the sector.

Both are right. Ma’s rosy future won’t happen without an end to local protectionism and a technological leap.

Article by Alysha Webb, a freelance automotive journalist and founder of ChinaEV Blog.

April 8, 2014 2 comments

Growing E85 Infrastructure Expands Ethanol’s Possibilities

written by CleanTechies.com Contributor

According to a new report from the US Energy Information Administration, the number of gas stations offering E85 ethanol has more than doubled in the last seven years. Last year, the EIA counted a total 2,625 flex-fuel stations in the United States, up from just 1,229 in 2007. The growth in available E85 pumps means that millions of Americans who previously lacked access can now easily buy the fuel.

If you drive a car, chances are you’re already an ethanol user. Due to a federal mandate, corn-based ethanol makes up at least 10 percent of the gasoline you likely put in your vehicle on a regular basis.

Many drivers also have the option to replace even more of their car’s petroleum usage with ethanol, by driving a flexible fuel vehicle. Flex-fuel cars and trucks run on an E85 blend of ethanol and gasoline (which, as its name suggests, is 85 percent ethanol.)

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, there were more than 15 million flex-fuel vehicles on the road in the United States at the end of 2012. That number has considerably grown in just the last year, as domestic automakers continue to make good on their pledge to incorporate the capability further in their lineups.

But according to at least one study, less than half of the drivers of flex-fuel cars and trucks are aware of the fuel or the fact that they can use it in their vehicles. Part of the reason is that for a long time E85 was hard to come by outside of the Midwest, where corn is king and ethanol is somewhat cheaper than other parts of the country.

That’s what’s so encouraging for ethanol devotees about the new EIA findings: the Midwest now accounts for just 36 percent of E85 filling stations nationwide, down from 54 percent in 2007.

Today, there are more than three dozen flex-fuel vehicle models available in the U.S., including the Buick LaCrosse (shown above). Most are from “Big Three” carmakers Ford, GM and Chrysler, who five years ago pledged to bring flex-fuel to half of their lineups by 2012.

Article by Brad Berman, appearing courtesy ebay Green Driving.

March 21, 2014 0 comment

Hydrogen Cars to Hit the Road This Spring

written by Walter Wang

Although electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles have been considered the only plausible alternatives to conventional cars for a long time, and practically all of the world’s biggest car makers have been investing heavily in these technologies, and governments around the world have been trying to promote the use of such vehicles by offering

February 14, 2014 1 comment

We’ll be Hearing Plenty More About Hydrogen Fuel-cell Vehicles

written by Walter Wang

Every day, it seems we read more about hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, most of which appear to be written purely to further confuse people who don’t really understand this in the first place. An excerpt from the article linked above: “Fuel-cell vehicles …. can operate on renewable hydrogen gas.” As the author must know, the concept of “renewable

November 25, 2013 3 comments

Will Fuel Cell Vehicles Succeed in the Market? Of Course Not

written by Walter Wang

I’ll be 75 years old in 2030, so it’s likely that I’ll still be around to validate what I’m about to say: the idea, expressed in this article, that fuel cell vehicles will grow to $73.8 billion in sales (not $74 billion mind you) by that date – or any other — is preposterous.

The world will not be retrofitting its fuel delivery

August 14, 2013 2 comments

Surviving Sub One-Percent Growth — The Choices Facing the Utilities

written by Walter Wang

The Great Recession ended in 2009. The economic recovery from the recession has been anemic at best. Some have even argued that there has been no recovery.

This is particularly true for electric utilities. Some 41 months later, electric sales have not bounced back to

August 2, 2013 2 comments

Gridtest Aims For EV and Charger Harmony

written by CleanTechies.com Contributor

There are only a few plug-in electric vehicles on the market, but more are on the way. Meanwhile, there are already dozen of chargers out there, also known as Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE). Sure, the EV manufacturer recommends a certain brand. But there are so many to choose from, and others that claim to be compatible with your brand of

June 18, 2013 0 comment

ConEd Upgrading Infrastructure – Why Not Address The Underlying Problem?

written by Walter Wang

According to this article in SmartGridNews, Consolidated Edison, the power utility that serves New York City and the surrounding region, is in the process of spending $1 billion to upgrade its power delivery infrastructure to minimize outages in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

June 3, 2013 0 comment

Green Roofs Industry Grows by 24%

written by Walter Wang

A 24 percent growth rate in installed green roofs in 2012 is part of the results of the Annual Green Roof Industry Survey.

“On the heels of a huge 115 per cent growth rate in 2011, the green roof industry still grew by 24 per cent in 2012,” said GRHC founder & president Steven W. Peck. “Green roofs are being embraced around North America, by policy makers, designers,

May 2, 2013 0 comment

The Triple Bottom Line of Green Cycling: Good for You, Good for Community, Good for the Economy

written by Walter Wang

While escalating conversations on topics such as climate change, carbon legislation, energy independence, and growing consumer eco awareness generate forward eco movement for some it simultaneously creates confusion and skepticism for others. To address these complex issues, it’s going to take all of us demonstrating eco awareness in our

July 11, 2012 0 comment

The Future of Smart Grid: Technology Experts Grapple With Implementation Challenges

written by Walter Wang

Imagine this scenario: you get an SMS saying there’s a problem in your home of excessive power output (“power leak”) and that an electric company rep is on his way to fix the problem. Sounds incredible? Well, apparently this scenario is not far from being realized. This is what Itai Brezis, Director of Strategy and Business Development at Cellcom, claimed at

June 28, 2012 0 comment

Cool Ways to Stay Cool

written by Walter Wang

As summer rolls around, it is time to take advantage of longer days and warmer weather. Yet, hot months often take a major toll on our budgets. What gives? As mercury rises, so do the costs of keeping our houses and buildings cool. Our thermal comfort at home, in office, in a supermarket, or in other public establishments, can present a major expense for

June 18, 2012 0 comment

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