Natural Gas Vehicle Technology Forum
11/1/2008
The Natural Gas Vehicle Technology Forum (NGVTF) supports development and deployment of commercially competitive natural gas engines, vehicles, and infrastructure. Led by the U.S. Department of Energy and the California Energy Commissino, the NGVTF brings together a diverse group of stakeholders to share information and leverage resources.
Full Fuel-Cycle Comparison of Forklift Propulsion Systems
10/14/2008
This report examines forklift propulsion systems and addresses the potential energy and environmental implications of substituting fuel cell propulsion for existing technologies based on batteries and fossil fuels. Industry data and the Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model are used to estimate full fuel-cycle emissions and use of primary energy sources. Also considered are other environmental concerns at work locations. The benefits derived from using fuel cell propulsion are determined by the sources of electricity and hydrogen. In particular, fuel cell forklifts using hydrogen made from the reforming of natural gas had lower impacts than those using hydrogen from electrolysis.
Authors: Gaines, L.L.; Elgowainy, A.; Wang, M.Q.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, October 2008
10/1/2008
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for October 2008 is a quarterly report on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue describes prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between October 2 and October 16, 2008, 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 reports that the nationwide average price for regular gasoline has dropped 87 cents from $3.91 per gallon to $3.04 per gallon; CNG has dropped 33 cents from $2.34 to $2.01; and ethanol (E85) has dropped 45 cents from $3.27 to $2.82 per gallon.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, July 2008
7/1/2008
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for July 2008 is a quarterly report on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue describes prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between July 21 and July 31, 2008, 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 reports that the nationwide average price for regular gasoline has risen 48 cents from $2.99 per gallon to $3.91 per gallon; CNG has risen 30 cents from $2.04 to $2.34; and ethanol (E85) has risen 40 cents from $2.87 to $3.27 per gallon.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
SunLine Transit Agency Hydrogen-Powered Transit Buses: Third Evaluation Report
6/1/2008
This report describes evaluation of operations at SunLine Transit Agency for a prototype fuel cell bus; a prototype hydrogen hybrid internal combustion engine bus; and five new compressed natural gas buses. This is the third evaluation report for SunLine Transit Agency in Thousand Palms, California. This report provides an update to the previous reports (Feb 2007 & Sep 2007) and includes results and experience through March 2008. During the data collection period (Jan 2006 - Mar 2008), SunLine operated the fuel cell bus nearly 51,000 miles in service with an overall fuel economy of 7.19 miles per kg. For comparison, SunLine's CNG buses have an average fuel economy of 3.02 miles per gasoline gallon equivalent. During the same timeframe, the HHICE bus accumulated more than 43,000 miles with an average fuel economy of 4.34 miles per kg.
Authors: Chandler, K.; Eudy, L.
Federal Tax Incentives Encourage Alternative Fuel Use
5/1/2008
The U.S. government provides several tax incentives for purchasing alternative fuel, hybrid electric, and fuel cell vehicles; installing alternative fueling infrastructure; and producing, selling, or using alternative fuels. The IRS has defined alternative fuels as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG); compressed natural gas (CNG); liquefied natural gas (LNG); liquefied hydrogen; liquid fuel derived from coal through the Fischer-Tropsch process; liquid hydrocarbons derived from biomass including ethanol, biodiesel, and renewable diesel; and P-series fuels. Current federal tax incentives are outlined in this fact sheet.
Options for Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles in Greensburg, Kansas
5/1/2008
After a devastating tornado that destroyed the town of Greensburg, Kansas in May 2007, plans were developed to rebuild the town as a sustainable community. This report focuses on outlining key success factors of infrastructure, alternative vehicles, and alternative and renewable fuels as part of an integrated energy strategy.
Authors: Harrow, G.
Frequently Asked Questions about Converting Vehicles to Operate on Natural Gas
4/1/2008
Many people are investigating options to retrofit or convert their car or pick-up truck to run solely on natural gas or to run as a bi-fuel vehicle on either gasoline or natural gas. This document answers basic questions regarding the conversion of light-duty vehicles including: conversion system availability; installation, service and warranty issues; costs; and available tax credits.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, April 2008
4/1/2008
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for April 2008 is a quarterly report on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue describes prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between April 1 and April 11, 2008, 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 reports that the nationwide average price for regular gasoline has risen 44 cents from $2.99 per gallon to $3.43 per gallon; CNG has risen 11 cents from $1.93 to $2.04; and ethanol (E85) has risen 36 cents from $2.51 to $2.87 per gallon.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report - January 2008
1/1/2008
The January 2008 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 describes prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between Jan. 21 and Jan. 31, 2008, 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 risen 23 cents to $2.99 per gallon; CNG has risen 16 cents to $1.93; and ethanol (E85) has risen 11 cents to $2.51 per gallon.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
BAE/Orion Hybrid Electric Buses at New York City Transit
1/1/2008
This report is part of a series of evaluation from the U.S. Department of Energy through the Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA) at NREL. The role of AVTA is to bridge the gap between research and development and the commercial availability for advanced vehicle technologies that reduce petroleum use while meeting air quality standards.
DOE/NREL evaluated the original 10 prototype diesel-hybrid buses from Orion and BAE Systems operated by the New York City Transit Co. (NYCT) The next report focused on 10 new compressed natural gas (CNG) and 10 next generation diesel hybrid electric buses. In the present evaluation, the focus is on hybrid-electric transit buses (equipped with BAE Systems' HybriDrive propulsion system) purchased by NYCT in an order group of 200 (Gen II), and their performance during their first year of service.
Authors: Barnitt, R.
Sorting Through the Many Total-Energy-Cycle Pathways Possible with Early Plug-In Hybrids
12/1/2007
Using the "total energy cycle" methodology, the report compares U.S. near term (to about 2015) alternative pathways for converting energy to light-duty vehicle kilometers of travel (VKT) in plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), hybrids (HEVs), and conventional vehicles. For PHEVs, we present total energy-per-unit-of-VKT information two ways: (1) energy from the grid during charge depletion; (2) energy from stored on-board fossil fuel when charge sustaining. The report examines incremental sources of supply of liquid fuel such as oil sands, Fischer-Tropsch diesel via natural gas, and ethanol from cellulosic biomass. The report compares such fuel pathways to various possible power converters producing electricity, including new coal boilers;integrated, gasified coal combined cycle;existing natural gas fueled combined cycle;existing natural gas combustion turbines;wood-to-electricity;and wind/solar. Also considered was a simulated fuel cell HEV and a plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicle.
Authors: Gaines, L.; Burnham, A.; Rousseau, A.; Santini, D.
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.