CNG fueline stations
receive Federal Stimulus Grant.
Aug 29, 2010 11:48PM
The world just got a little
wider for Utahns who drive cars powered by
clean-burning compressed natural gas.
Making good on promises to expand the horizons for
natural-gas-vehicle
drivers, and getting a boost from federal stimulus funds, the Utah
Clean Cities Coalition and Questar Gas have collaborated to open a new
fueling station near Vernal in the heart of Utah’s natural gas fields.
The station opens another segment of the state to NGV
drivers, and will allow Uintah County and the region’s natural gas
producers to fuel their fleets with the home-grown fuel, reducing air
pollution in the Uintah Basin. It cost about $500,000 to install the
fueling facilities, with Clean Cities covering about a quarter of the
cost from a $15 million federal stimulus grant. The money is being used
to add new fueling stations, and boost the pressure at existing
stations to allow faster fueling.
With 29 fueling stations and an estimated 5,000-8,000 CNG-powered cars
on the highway, Utah is already a leader in the use of compressed
natural gas as a motor fuel. NGV owners can drive without fear of
running out of fuel in the Interstate 15 corridor, while the Vernal
station will allow Utah drivers to reach parts of Colorado. Next, Clean
Cities and Questar hope to extend the reach into Nevada and Wyoming by
making Utah’s I-80 corridor NGV-friendly.
Government at all levels needs to encourage the use of CNG. NGV owners
do us all a favor, clearing the air, reducing climate-altering
greenhouse gas emissions and lessening our reliance on foreign oil by
utilizing an abundant, clean-burning domestic fuel. And they’re doing
themselves a favor. At $1.52 per gallon equivalent of fuel, CNG is not
only good for the environment, it’s good for your budget.
But, after gradually gaining national acceptance through the 1990s, the
popularity of NGVs has lagged. In order to expand the use of this
home-grown fuel, which often requires the costly conversion of gasoline
engines, the federal government must sweeten the pot for consumers,
fuel providers and vehicle manufacturers. But Congress seems unwilling
to commit to long-term tax breaks for the industry.
Instead, Congress has thrown up a roadblock, allowing a tax credit to
expire that is vital to the expansion of CNG fuel networks. Until Jan.
1, natural gas producers were given a 50 cent credit for every gallon
equivalent of CNG they sold. Questar chose to pass the credit along to
consumers, keeping fuel prices low as an incentive for consumers to
invest in NGVs.
Now, some of that incentive
is lost. Congress should
stop sending mixed signals, and restore the tax credit soon.
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 Heavy
duty transport LNG A big step on clean fuel
2010-08-30 NGVJournal Tasmania
has its first LNG station
This facility was commissioned by Boc
Australia, and is the first of a batch of six stations that will
make up a global LNG supply network including a liquefaction plant with
a 50 ton per day small scale, fuel delivery trailers and the refuelling
pumps.
The station is
composed of one LNG storage tank of 80m3, one LNG pump skid , one
weight and measures approved
LNG dispenser and a dedicated payment system. The clean-energy
specialized company also designed the fully automated control system,
which offers remote access for supervision purposes.
The dispenser point is located in Tasmania (Australian island and
state) and it will be used to serve both
saturated and cold LNG heavy duty vehicles that transport wood from the
mills to the port where it is loaded onto the ships.
It is worth mentioning that the entire facility has been constructed
around a modular LNG refuelling station equipment that enables
a quick and easy on-site installation of the main components, thus
avoiding heavy on-site installation costs.
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Europe LNG heavy
duty trucks approachs commercialization
8/31/10 NGVJournal
There are about 10 L-CNG stations already developed
with Vanzetti
Engineering technology across Europe today and 20 more are currently
either in progress, under development or in projecting phase among
Italy and Europe. The innovation is made also by equipping all the new
stations for the LNG vehicles refuelling on board, with the perspective
of LNG heavy duty trucks approaching markets commercialization.
Liquefied Natural Gas is then confirmed to be a valid
and concrete
alternative solution to conventional fuels, aiming to boost the NGV
refuelling network in Italy and Europe, especially in those areas where
site development is blocked by insufficient pipeline pressures or
complete pipeline absence.
Another dispensing point, completely built by Vanzetti
Engineering, has a capacity of 600 Nm3/h and is set to refuel up to 500
Kg/h. NGV users are able now to refill their vehicles with LNG or CNG
new facility located in Villafalletto (province of Cuneo).
"It is a great achievement to have a chance to fully complete the
process by projecting and directly installing all primary components of
this site. This is a perfect case of an all-made-in-Italy technology
and we are proud to be seen as pioneers,” commented Vanzetti through a
press released today.
“Several tests were made during the past months focusing on the
refueling process and the whole cryogenic system functioning. Such
approach, allow us to confirm that all the key points of strengths and
solidity of this application are verified,” the company added.
LNG supply is today provided by Polargas, affiliated company of
Vanzetti Engineering, ensuring an efficient logistics. The same station
managing operator is put in condition to monitor electronically all the
levels and the refill needs at the site, and place an order based on
CNG consumption. NGV Journal reported opening of the first Italian
L-CNG station at the beginning of June.
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India shifting to
CNG to bring down bus emissions
8/31/10 NGVJournal
In order to reduce the emission levels and operational
costs, the government-owned Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC)
intends to powered is bus fleet by compressed natural. Consequently,
the company recently held meetings with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to
determine the proper infrastructure to supply the fluid.
"We are keen on shifting to CNG to bring down emission levels of our
buses. It would also reduce our fuel expenditure. We had elaborate
discussions with IOC, but they said they were not in a position to
supply CNG now,'' reported transport official to The Times of India.
IOC executives stated they are planning the construction of an LNG
terminal at Ennore. "We signed a memorandum of understanding with the
Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation early this month to set
up a Rs 3,000-crore facility,” he added.
On behalf of Petroleum Conservation Research Association, V Sivakumar
explained: "Delhi government was able to control pollution there by
converting diesel-operated buses into CNG-run vehicles. Though the
capital expenditure to set up the infrastructure for CNG will be high,
it would give 1.5 times more mileage than diesel. It will also increase
the operational efficiency of the vehicle."
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Peru transports gas to places not served by
pipeline
These dispensing points will enable better access to fuel
and will reduce the costs of supply. Also, they will not spend time
carrying the fleet to a filling station. NEOGás technology allows
transport natural gas to places not served by the gas pipeline network.
Bus companies that choose to convert their buses to CNG could get the
necessary capital to renew the fleet without investment or maintenance
costs, which will be absorbed by NEOgas during the first five years. In
addition, they will not be overcharged, compared to the price paid in
the stations of Lima. And also the firm will offer some discounts
depending on consumption.
After five years the station became operational, it will belong to the
transportation company, which will take the management of the
facilitity and the staff.
NEOgas general manager José Carlos Armas explained that NEObus service
makes possible the decentralization of CNG, with a real alternative for
changing the energy grid in Peru, and it will help to preserve the
environment."
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New
York MTA Places Order for up to 475 CNG Buses
NGV Global
8/30/10
The Board of the New York Metropolitan Transit
Authority (MTA) has awarded New Flyer of America Inc. a contract for up
to 475
compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. The contract is for 135 40-foot CNG
heavy-duty transit buses with options for up to an additional 340 CNG
buses.
The new clean-burning CNG buses will be deployed by the New York City
Transit
Authority (NYCTA) and the MTA Bus Company (MTA Bus). Two pilot buses
will be
delivered to the MTA in the second quarter of 2011, with the balance of
the
base order delivered in the fourth quarter of 2011 and early 2012. The
MTA is
the largest transit agency in North America, and is responsible for
public
transportation in the state of New York. It transports more than 11
million
passengers on an average weekday and reportedly accounts for
approximately 30%
of all transit trips in the US.
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LNG Platform Supply
Vessels STX Norway
Offshore Constructs
STX Norway Offshore Friday, August 27, 2010
STX Norway Offshore has
entered into two new contracts with Island Offshore for the building of
two LNG
powered Platform Supply Vessels. The vessels are scheduled for delivery
in Q2
and Q3 2012. The total value of the contracts amounts to approximately
NOK 900
million.
Roy Reite, President of STX Norway Offshore, said, "We appreciate
the good relations we have with Island Offshore, and that this
cooperation once
again has led to the building of new vessels. We have in total been
awarded
more than thirty new building contracts with Island Offshore, and we
look
forward to continuing the good cooperation." The hulls will be built at
Braila in Romania, and outfitted in Brevik, Norway. The vessels are of
Rolls-Royce UT 776 CDG design, based on the series of six vessels for
Island
Offshore. Four of these vessels are already delivered. Liquefied
Natural Gas
(LNG) is an environmental friendly combustion fuel with NOx and CO2
emission
far below any fuel oil based engine.
STX Norway Offshore has in the past
delivered six LNG powered vessels and has, including these new
contracts, a
total of four LNG powered vessels under construction.
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PetroChina to build LNG
facility to supply Tibet
BEIJING (tehrantimes.com)
PetroChina Co Ltd plans to build a 300
million yuan ($44 million) liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in
western
China to supply Tibet, parent China National Petroleum Corp said.
The project, sourcing gas from PetroChina’s Qinghai oil and
gas field in northwesterm Qinghai province, was scheduled to start
operating in
October next year, state-owned CNPC said in a notice on its
website. The company would build a receiving facility in the
Tibetan
capital Lhasa and a 38-kilometer gas grid, as well as compressed
natural gas
filling stations for vehicles in the city, it said. The notice
did not give a capacity for the facility.
Separately, state media reported that State Grid Corp had
started building a $2 billion, 1,774-kilometre power line last month to
supply
Tibet, with plans to complete the project by end of 2012. <> |