“We’re going to diesel so we can
have reliability,” he said. “If you take it one step further, it means one less engine to train on, it makes the shop is safer and there are fewer parts to stock. It just makes sense.” Nearby, Oakland, California, became the first major U.S. city to switch entirely to RD for its 250 diesel-powered fleet vehicles, includ- ing street sweepers, dump trucks, tractors, mowers and construction equipment. Six months after launch- ing, there have been no reported issues as the fuel is fully compatible with existing equipment. “If we didn’t tell the drivers, they
wouldn’t have noticed. We didn’t make any modifications to vehicles or fuel- ing whatsoever. We made a significant emission improvement overnight,” said Oakland’s Fleet Service Director Richard Battersby, who is a scheduled presenter this month at the STN EXPO on this very topic. With Finnish oil refining compa-
ny Neste serving as a supplier, Oak- land stands to utilize about 230,000 gallons of RD this year, though it’s important to note it costs about 10 cents per gallon more than regular diesel. Still, the cetane number of RD ranges from 75 to 90, compared to petroleum diesel (40 to 55) and biodiesel (50 to 65), equating to improved performance. In Oregon, the City of Portland and the Eugene Water and Electric Board are two of the largest fleets using and praising RD. Fleet managers there said they have noticed fewer alerts and regens from vehicle emission systems. With less black soot emitted into particulate traps, for example, Battersby said he expects Oakland’s fleet maintenance costs to reduce. Te biggest issue, however, con- tinues to be availability. “Renewable Diesel is not every-
where. Te industry has some catching up to do, as demand is growing faster than supply. Over time it should gain more access, because it is a superior fuel for diesel engines,” said Rick Wallace, senior policy analyst at the
Oregon Department of Energy, who’s extensively studied the fuel. Additionally, renewable natural gas and propane, the latter of which is already is being used in Europe, are currently undergoing test phases. During a CAL-START webinar last month, Pat O’Keefe, CEO and presi- dent of NexGen Fuel, said renewable gasoline and propane first require specification standards before they could be put into wide-scale use.
Progress in CNG
Meanwhile, both the acceptance and infrastructure of propane and CNG continue to accelerate. While CNG-powered vehicles have had explosive growth in corporate and utility fleets, the school bus CNG market has seen a slower pace. Tat seems to be changing, as govern- ments provide incentive funding and manufacturers add more products to the market. Blue Bird and Tomas Built Buses
have offered CNG in Type D tran- sit-style applications for years, and now both are coming are offering options for their respective Type-C flagship models, the Vision and Saf- T-Liner C2. Lion Bus was the first to announce a Type C option last spring powered by a NGV Motori version of the International DT466 engine. For the Type A segment, Collins Bus Corporation offers its new NEXBUS CNG powered by the Cummins Westport WiNG Power System on a Ford E-450 cutaway chassis. Real-world use of CNG has been
positive, especially when a whole community collaborates. For nearly two decades, the entire community of Bakersfield, California, has been committed to achieving cleaner air, which has driven the successful adoption of CNG vehicles for Kern County school transportation. Begin- ning in 1999, the district obtained grants to transition its bus fleet to CNG power and construct a 24/7 fueling infrastructure, also accessible
Fast Facts Top State for Renewable Diesel
California While most states have limited supply, California had shipments of 179 million gallons of Renewable Diesel last year. Source: Neste
CNG Fast Facts
There are now more than 150 school districts operating approximately 5,500 CNG vehicles in their fleets. Source: NGV America
Top states for CNG Consumption:
California New York Texas Georgia Massachusetts Washington, D.C. Source: CNG Now
The vast majority of the nation’s com- pressed natural gas (CNG) supply is distributed via the existing natural gas distribution system. Most natural gas fueling stations dis- pense CNG, which is compressed on site in many cases. CNG is used in light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles. Source: Alternative Fuels Data Center
CNG Cost: The gallon equivalent of CNG is typically 25 to 45 percent less than the per gallon cost of diesel.
CNG Clean: Natural gas can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 to 23 percent when compared with diesel vehicles. Source: CNG Now
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