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Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report - October 2007
10/1/2007
The October 2007 Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report is a quarterly report keeping you up to date on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue discusses prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between Oct. 2 and Oct 20, 2007, and then averaged in order to determine regional price trends by fuel and variability in fuel price within regions and among regions. The prices collected for this report represent retail, at-the-pump sales prices for each fuel, including Federal and state motor fuel taxes.
Table 1 illustrates that the nationwide average price for regular gasoline has dropped 27 cents to $2.76 per gallon; CNG has dropped 32 cents to $1.77; and ethanol (E85) has dropped 23 cents to $2.40 per gallon.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
Water Usage for Current and Future Ethanol Production
8/23/2007
Moving and treating water consumes energy, and producing energy nearly always consumes water: the two are tightly linked. The good news is that conservation of one results in savings of the other as well. By understanding how much water is required to produce various kinds of energy, we can move toward more water-efficient energy production. In turn, recognizing how much energy is needed for various components of our water systems will help us identify opportunities for greater efficiency. This issue's articles look at both sides.
Authors: Aden, A.
Clean Cities Annual Metrics Report 2006
7/1/2007
Clean Cities coordinators submit an annual report of their activities and accomplishments for the previous calendar year. Coordinators submit a range of data that characterize the membership, funding, projects, and activities of their coalitions as well as data about sales of alternative fuel blends, deployment of alternative fuel vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, idle reduction initiatives, and fuel economy activities. NREL analyzes the data and translates them into gasoline reduction impacts.
Survey results indicate that about 375 million gallons of gasoline were displaced through Clean Citiew efforts in 2006, 50 percent more than in 2005. Alternative fuel vehicles accounted for 71 percent of the reduction. Biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel) used in AFVs displaced 128 million gallons, 34 percent of the total 375 million.
Authors: Bergeron, P.; Putsche, V.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, July 2007
7/1/2007
The July 2007 Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report is a quarterly report keeping you up to date on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue discusses prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between July 3, 2007 and July 13, 2007, and then averaged in order to determine regional price trends by fuel and variability in fuel price within regions and among regions. The prices collected for this report represent retail, at-the-pump sales prices for each fuel, including Federal and state motor fuel taxes.
Table 1 illustrates that all fuel prices except propane and biodiesel have risen but the price increases are well below the increase in the price of regular gasoline. CNG is almost a dollar less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
2006 B100 Quality Survey Results: Milestone Report
5/1/2007
In 2006 NREL conducted a nationwide quality survey of pure biodiesel (B100) intended to be used as a blendstock. The study collected random samples throughout the United States and analyzed them for quality against the current and proposed ASTM D6751 fuel quality specifications. The survey revealed the increasing prevalence of B99.9 in the marketplace. As a group, the samples had a failure rate of 59% compared to the specifications. The B100 samples as a subset had an identical failure rate. Most often, the samples failed by exceeding the allowable total glycerin or by not meeting the minimum flash point specification. Several samples failed to meet requirements for multiple properties. The individual failure rtes for total glycerin and flash point were 33% and 30% respectively. The results of this study were not production volume weighted, but do show a significant fuel quality concern for B100 produced and distributed during 2006.
Authors: Alleman, T.L.; McCormick, R.L.; Deutch, S.
Thermochemical Ethanol via Indirect Gasification and Mixed Alcohol Synthese of Lignocellulosic Biomass
4/30/2007
This work addresses a policy initiative by the Federal Administration to apply United States Department of Energy (DOE) research to broadening the country?s domestic production of economic, flexible, and secure sources of energy fuels. President Bush stated in his 2006 State of the Union Address: ?America is addicted to oil.? To reduce the Nation?s future demand for oil, the President has proposed the Advanced Energy Initiative which outlines significant newinvestments and policies to change the way we fuel our vehicles and change the way we power our homes and businesses. The specific goal for biomass in the Advanced Energy Initiative is to foster the breakthrough technologies needed to make cellulosic ethanol cost-competitive with corn-based ethanol by 2012.
Authors: Phillips, Steve;Aden, Andy;Jechura, John;Dayton, David (NREL);Eggeman, Tim (Neoterics, International, Inc.)
Fact Sheet: Sequestering Greenhouse Gases from Landfills, Animal Waste, Sewage, and Other Sources Via Biomethane Production
3/21/2007
Biogas, a mixture of methane and other gases produced from the decomposition of organic materials, is produced naturally in landfills and from processing of animal waste, sewage, crop waste, and cellulosic and non-cellulosic crops. If biomethane made from recovered biogas were used in vehicles, it is estimated that it would reduce greenhouse gases by 500 million metric tons of CO2 per year, or the emissions equivalent of removing 90 million light-duty gasoline vehicles from the roads.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, March 2007
3/1/2007
The March 2007 Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report is a quarterly report keeping you up to date on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue discusses prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between February 21, 2007 and March 2, 2007, and then averaged in order to determine regional price trends by fuel and variability in fuel price within regions and among regions. The prices collected for this report represent retail, at-the-pump sales prices for each fuel, including Federal and state motor fuel taxes.
Table 1 illustrates that alternative fuel prices relative to conventional fuels vary, with some (propane and biodiesel) higher and some (E85 and CNG) lower. CNG is about 36 cents less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is about 20 cents less per gallon than gasoline.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
The Evolution of Powertrain Technology 2008 and Beyond: Engines, Hybrids, Battery Electric, Fuel Cells, Transmissions
1/1/2007
The objectives of this study were to provide automotive suppliers and OEMs with a set of plausible alternatives that cover the future vehicle market, crude oil prices, regulatory and business environment; provide an assessment of benefits and costs of various powertrain technologies; identify the technical and market barriers that must be overcome to bring these technologies to market; provide a forecast of the potential market share of these technologies.
Authors: Gott, P.; Linna, J-R; Mello, J.
The Long-Run Impact of Corn-Based Ethanol on the Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Sectors: A Preliminary Assessment
11/1/2006
The ongoing growth of corn-based ethanol production raises some fundamental questions about the impact of continued growth on U.S. and world agricultural markets. Estimates of the long-run potential for ethanol production can be made by calculating the corn price at which the incentive to expand ethanol production disappears. Under current ethanol tax policy, if the prices of crude oil, natural gas, and distillers grains stay at current levels, then the break-even corn price is $4.05 per bushel.At this price, corn-based ethanol production would reach 31.5 billion gallons per year, or about 20% of projected U.S. fuel consumption in 2015. Supporting this level of production would require 95.6 million acres of corn to be planted. Total corn production would be approximately 15.6 billion bushels, compared to 11.0 billion bushels today. Most of the additional corn acres come from reduced soybean acreage. Corn exports and production of pork and poultry would all be reduced in response to higher corn prices and increased utilization of corn by ethanol plants. These results are not to be viewed as a prediction of what will eventually happen. Rather, they indicate a logical end point to the current incentives to invest in corn-based ethanol plants.
Authors: Elobeid, A.; Tokgoz, S.; Hayes, D.J.; Babcock, B.A.; Hart, C.E.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, October 2006
10/1/2006
The October 2006 Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report is a quarterly report keeping you up to date on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue discusses prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders in September and October 2006, and then averaged in order to determine regional price trends by fuel and variability in fuel price within regions and among regions. The prices collected for this report represent retail, at-the-pump sales prices for each fuel, including Federal and state motor fuel taxes.
Table 1 illustrates that alternative fuel prices relative to conventional fuels vary, with some (propane and biodiesel) higher and some (E85 and CNG) lower. CNG is about 45 cents less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is about 11 cents less per gallon than gasoline.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
A Guide for Evaluating the Requirements of Ethanol Plants
6/20/2006
During the past decade, interest in the production of biofuels from renewable resources has continued to grow throughout the U.S. Major grain producing states have placed special emphasis on the production of ethanol. The currrent demand for ethanol and the projected increase in the use of these fuels under a national renewable fuels standard continues to stimulate interest in the prospects for the development of new ethanol plants. This publication is designed to assist interested parties during the initial stages of evaluating the potential for the development of a processing facility. Interested parties can consider the requirements and potential impact of an ethanol production facility in a community or region of the state. The value-added aspects of producing a high value product from lower cost raw materials has considerable appeal in agricultural states and areas where reliable supplies of biomass feedstocks exist.
