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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.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, June 2006
6/1/2006
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report is a quarterly report designed to keep you up to date on the prices of alternative fuels and conventional fuels in the U.S. Prices were collected during May and June of 2006.
SunLine Expands Horizons with Fuel Cell Bus Demo
5/1/2006
Sunline Transit Agency, a joint powers authority that provides public transit and community services to California's Coachella Valley, was an early adopter of alternative fuels for bus operations. SunLine replaced its diesel fleet with CNG buses and has worked to further reduce emissions. SunLine is currently testing a prototype fuel cell bus.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority: Compressed Natural Gas Transit Bus Evaluation
4/1/2006
The objective of this report is to provide a reasonable comparison between currently available compressed natural gas and standard diesel transit buses. The report includes operational, maintenance, and performance data for each study fleet operating from the same depot. The evaluation was conducted in 2004. Transit agencies considering use of alternative fuel and advanced propulsion technology transit buses are the primary audience for this information.
Authors: K.Chandler; E.Eberts; M.Melendez
Estimated Use of Gasohol - 2004
4/1/2006
This one-page table provides estimated use of the total amount of ethanol used in gasohol in the 50 states in 2004. The total was 3.6 billon gallons of ethanol used in gasohol blends.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report - February 2006
2/1/2006
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report provides regional alternative and conventional fuel prices for biodiesel, compressed natural gas, ethanol, hydrogen, propane, gasoline, and diesel. The Alternative Fuel Price Report is a snapshot in time of retail fuel prices.
Transitioning to a Hydrogen Future: Learning from the Alternative Fuels Experience
2/1/2006
A wealth of practical knowledge concerning alternative fuel technologies, products, national policies, and market introduction exists within industry, regulated fleets, and voluntary programs. Issues relating to consumer choice, capital investment, business decision making, manufacturing, and infrastructure construction will need to be understood in the alternative fuels context if the hydrogen transition is to occur efficiently. The overall objective of this project is to assess relevant knowledge within the alternative fuels community and recommend transitional strategies and tactics that will further the hydrogen transition in the transportation sector and help avoid stranded assets in the alternative fuels industry.
Authors: Melendez, M.
Credit for New Qualified Alternative Motor Vehicles (Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicles and Qualified Hybrid Motor Vehicles)
1/13/2006
On January 13, 2006, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued guidance regarding the tax credits for light-duty (less than 8,500 lbs. GVWR) lean-burn and hybrid electric vehicles. The guidance establishes the procedures that manufacturers must use to certify that their vehicles qualify for the tax credit. The IRS plans to issue additional guidance at a later date to address procedures for qualifying alternative fuel vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, and heavy-duty hybrid vehicles.
The guidance provides procedures whereby a manufacturer may certify to the IRS that its vehicles qualify for the tax credits enacted in EPAct 2005. The guidance also provides procedures for reporting on the total number of qualifying vehicles that have been sold. Upon receiving the required information, the IRS will issue an acknowledgement. A manufacturer that has submitted the proper certification and received an acknowledgement from the IRS may then certify to customers/puchasers that the vehicles qualify for tax credits. For taxpayers to claim the credit, they must place the vehicle in service after December 31, 2005. The taxpayer also must be the original user of the vehicle (first purchaser or lessee) and the vehicle must be predominately used in the U.S.
Steam Reforming of Ethanol at Elevated Pressures for Distributed Hydrogen Production
1/1/2006
Ethanol is an attractive renewable fuel because, as a liquid fuel, it has a high energy density, it is easy to transport, and it is environmentally more benign than petroleum-derived fuels. The hydrogen produced by reforming needs to be purified and compressed to the appropriate storage and dispensing pressures. Compressing hydrogen is energy intensive and can consume a significant fraction of the fuel's heating value. A promising option for producing hydrogen from ethanol is by conducting the ethanol steam reforming reaction at an elevated pressure, since injecting liquid feeds (ethanol and water) into a pressurized reactor requires very little energy.
Authors: Lee, S.; Papadias, D.; Ahluwalia, R.; Ahmed, S.
