NGVAmerica News Week in Review: March 14, 2016

 

• Long Beach Awards New Flyer Contract for up to 129 CNG Transit Buses
• California Energy Commission Invests in Higher Efficiency Natural Gas Projects
• EPA and NHTSA Extend Comment Period for Proposed Phase 2 GHG Requirements
• Colorado Springs Utilities Celebrates Second CNG Station Opening
• CNG One Source Announces New Engine Technology
• Canadian City Contracts with Greenlane Biogas for Organic Biofuel Facility
• Xperion Delivers X-Store CNG Containers for Belgian Market
• Maritime Administration Releases LNG Vessel Operations Emission Report
• Rolls-Royce to Supply $6.5 Million LNG Propulsion Package for Fish Food Carrier

 

Long Beach Awards New Flyer Contract for up to 129 CNG Transit Buses

March 10, 2016

New Flyer of has been awarded a contract for up to 129 heavy-duty 40-foot CNG buses by Long Beach Transit. The contract includes a firm order for 40 Xcelsior XN40 buses valued at approximately $22 million, with options for an additional 89 units over the next 5 years.

The initial order will replace older vehicles in Long Beach Transit’s current fleet with the new fuel efficient Xcelsior XN40 buses. Xcelsior buses have shown an improvement in fuel economy of up to 8 percent, as a result of its reduced weight.

Long Beach Transit currently serves over 28 million annual riders with a fleet of 249 vehicles in fixed route service in the Orange County and Los Angeles County area.

California Energy Commission Invests in Higher Efficiency Natural Gas Projects

March 9, 2016

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved $4.3 million in grants for projects to increase the efficiency of natural gas technology in a variety of applications, including natural gas engine technology for heavy duty vehicles and a renewable natural gas (RNG) project.

The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) received a $1 million grant to develop and demonstrate an advanced natural gas engine to be installed in 18 vehicles that include delivery trucks and school buses. The engine will help improve air quality in Southern California. GTI also received two grants totaling nearly $2 million to demonstrate new waste heat recovery systems for industrial furnaces and steam boilers.

The City of Petaluma received a $3 million grant to design and operate an anaerobic digestion system to produce 150,000 GGEs of RNG from food and beverage waste and use the gas to fuel refuse trucks. The goal is to recycle waste and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

 

EPA and NHTSA Extend Comment Period for Proposed Phase 2 GHG Requirements

March 14, 2016

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have extended the comment period for the proposed Phase 2 Heavy Duty National Program proposed July 13, 2015, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and fuel consumption for new on-road heavy duty vehicles and engines.

Specifically, the agencies are soliciting additional comment on certain revised test reports, and a revised version of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Model (GEM) used both in developing certain of the proposed standards and in demonstrating compliance with those standards. Additionally, EPA is soliciting further comment on memoranda relating to standard applicability and implementation. These memoranda address potential requirements for selective enforcement audits and confirmatory testing related to greenhouse gas emissions, and applicability of emission standards and certification responsibilities for trailers, glider vehicles, and glider kits.

The Phase 2 rules take effect starting in 2018 for trailers and 2021 for engines and trucks and phase-in over a ten year period.  The rulemaking (Phase 1 rules were finalized in 2011) includes requirements for engines, trailers, and complete trucks and set different levels of stringency for different categories of vehicles (e.g., large pickup trucks, vocational vehicles, transit buses, tractor trailers).

In October 2015, NGVAmerica submitted comments to the EPA and NHTSA supporting the fair treatment of NGVs in the proposed rules.

Comments now must be received on or before April 1, 2016. For a copy of the solicitation, click here.

 

Colorado Springs Utilities Celebrates Second CNG Station Opening

March 10, 2016

Colorado Springs Utilities in Colorado celebrated the completion of its second CNG station. The opening ceremony included a program with speakers from the utility’s partner organizations and the companies that will use the CNG station for their fleets.

The utility received a $402,412 grant from the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) for the construction of the station, which supplemented a $500,000 Colorado Energy Office grant received in September of 2014. The grant funds are derived from state severance taxes and federal mineral lease royalties paid to the state by Colorado’s energy and mineral industry. Springs Utilities also received a grant valued at $42,000 for the purchase of six CNG-fueled trucks.

Eleven companies—including School District 20, El Paso County and the Colorado Division of Wildlife—support the Pinkerton station.

“There’s a need for additional fueling stations,” said Mike Allison, Springs Utilities’ Pinkerton CNG fueling station construction project manager. “We’ve witnessed sales grow from 300 gallons in 2014, to 2,736 gallons this year at the ESC station. Providing these stations improves regional air quality and helps our customers control fuel costs.

The station, which is located along the I-25 corridor, accommodates Class 8 trucks, service vehicles and passenger cars. The station will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will accept major credit cards as well as fleet fueling cards.

 

CNG One Source Announces New Engine Technology

March 10, 2016

CNG One Source, headquartered in Pennsylvania, has debuted new, more efficient fuel system technology for CNG engines. In 2014, CNG One Source partnered with Penn State University for advanced fuel system design. The university completed work on the CFD studies, and in 2015, CNG One Source received provisional patent status for the technology. CNG One Source has successfully prototyped the system and is now preparing to test the advancements in the field.

The new engine technology will be available for dedicated CNG/LNG natural gas engines as well as dual fuel diesel and CNG, bi-fuel gasoline and CNG, and bi-fuel gasoline and propane. Preliminary studies have shown reduced emissions through all engine regimes as well as lowered engine temperatures.

In addition to the provisional patent, CNG One Source owns existing patents for converting diesel engines to run on natural gas.

 

Canadian City Contracts with Greenlane Biogas for Organic Biofuel Facility

March 11, 2016

Greenlane Biogas has received a contract from Orgaworld Canada, an organic waste treatment company, to supply a biogas upgrading system and a CO₂recovery unit for the City of Surrey’s Organic Biofuel Facility.

The facility is currently under construction and will have the capacity to process up to 115,000 tons of organic waste annually from the city’s curbside collection program and commercial waste from the region. The organic waste will be fed into anaerobic digesters to generate biogas which will be upgraded by the system to produce RNG with methane purity greater than 97 percent.

The RNG will be used to fuel the city’s fleet of natural gas waste collection and operations service vehicles, and supply the city-owned district energy system to heat and cool public and privately owned buildings in the City Centre community.

“This facility will allow the City to recycle all the organic waste its residents produce by diverting the organic waste from landfills, and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere,” said Brent Jaklin, Managing Director for Greenlane Biogas North America. “We believe this project will be a great showcase for other cities looking for an economical and environmentally sustainable solution to manage waste.”

 

Xperion Delivers X-Store CNG Containers for Belgian Market

March 12, 2016

xperion Energy & Environment has delivered four 20 ft. X-Store transport containers for CNG to the Belgium market. These full composite cylinders will transport gasified LNG from the Kallo LNG terminal, operated by Drive Systems N.V. and located inside the Antwerp harbour, to that company’s daughter station in Hoboken.

The use of NGVs is growing rapidly in Belgium, and the mobile pipeline system will help Drive Systems distribute natural gas to LNG stations, as well as its CNG daughter stations. “The X-Store transport units give us the opportunity to distribute the LNG from our Kallo LNG station to different locations in a very efficient way,” said Mr. Philippe Desrumaux, CEO of Drive Systems.

xperion says more than 300 X-Store units are in operation worldwide as virtual pipelines, mobile refueling units as well as mobile storages for CNG, biomethane, hydrogen and other compressed gases.

 

Maritime Administration Releases LNG Vessel Operations Emission Report

March 10, 2016

The Maritime Administration has made available a report that quantifies methane slip and fugitive emissions from using LNG for vessel operations and bunkering. The study, completed in partnership with the University of Delaware and the Rochester Institute of Technology, builds upon earlier work identifying life cycle emissions associated with LNG use using a “well-to-hull” analysis.

The study was designed to provide information guide innovation investments in reducing methane slip and release in the maritime propulsion context.  A key finding is that fugitive methane emissions from bunkering operations pose a potentially greater source of methane release than methane slip at the engine. For further review, the report is available here.

 

Rolls-Royce to Supply $6.5 Million LNG Propulsion Package for Fish Food Carrier

March 8, 2016

Rolls-Royce has signed a $6.5 million contract with Tersan Shipyard in Turkey to supply an LNG propulsion package for a cargo carrier designed by NSK Ship Design for Norwegian shipowner NSK Shipping. The vessel will deliver fish food on behalf of BioMar Group.

The new cargo carrier will be a slightly larger sister ship to NSK Shipping’s MS Høydal which was the world’s first LNG powered cargo vessel and which was delivered from Tersan Shipyard in 2012. Both ships are designed by NSK Ship Design.

The 267 ft. long vessel will be able to carry 2.7 tons of fish food to fish farms along the Norwegian coast. The LNG Propulsion system comprises one eight cylinder Bergen C26:33 natural gas engine, and the vessel is also equipped with the Rolls-Royce hybrid shaft generator (HSG) propulsion system. This means the main engine also generates electricity for the ship. The Hybrid Shaft Generator will generate electrical power for the ship even if the engine power output varies, saving fuel.

The new cargo carrier is expected to be delivered from the yard in 2017.