GBRCCC

On Thursday, October 18, 2012, National Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Day Odyssey marked its 10-year anniversary and was celebrated across the U.S. at over 150 sites including Baton Rouge. Coordinated by the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC), the biennial event is dedicated to promoting the use of AFVs and advanced technology vehicles.

The Greater Baton Rouge Clean Cities Coalition and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, along with sponsors Apache Corporation and Royal Nissan, hosted lawmakers, government officials, and clean fuel stakeholders from across the state for a one-day Symposium and Expo at the Capital Park Welcome Center.

(Thomas Marino, GBRCCC Vice President;  Melvin L. “Kip” Holden, EBR Mayor-President; Lauren L. Stuart, GBRCCC Executive Director)

East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Melvin L. “ Kip” Holden kicked off the event with welcoming remarks. As someone who has worked on securing alternative fuels policy, Holden is well aware of the barriers to achieving energy independence in Louisiana, but believes that’s why such efforts must continue: “Even though there are still obstacles out there, you are on the right track. You must keep pushing and opening those doors.”

Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry,             Commissioner Dr. Mike Strain

Keynote speaker Dr. Mike Strain, Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry, articulated why the department is so heavily invested in alternative fuels. From field to table, our food is transported an average of 15 times. As the state’s largest industry, agriculture and forestry require a ton of energy. In addition to expanding alternative fuel use to lower costs, reduce dependence on imported petroleum, and decrease greenhouse gases, Dr. Strain sees alternative fuels as an untapped global market for the state. “Louisiana is perfectly suited for biofuel production [because of] location, vegetation diversity, climate, agricultural infrastructure, [and our] forests yield the highest amounts of biomass.” LA also has some of the largest natural gas finds in the world. Working to ensure that these industries are better developed and that the revenues stay here in the state is paramount.

GBRCCC executive director Lauren Lee Stuart demonstrated the impact Clean Cities has had on the nation’s economic stability, energy security, and environmental quality – saving more than 3 billion gallons of petroleum since the program’s start in 1994. As 27% of greenhouse gases come from the transportation sector, we need to ensure that AFVs and infrastructure are prioritized and made more accessible.

(Lauren L. Stuart, GBRCCC; Louisiana State Representatives Robert Billiot, Rep. James Fannin; Rep. Henry Burns)

        Randy Hayden, director of Louisiana Propane Association, moderated a political panel with Representatives Franklin Foil and Dalton Honore. The panel discussed the legislative obstacles standing between us and the future of alternative fuel production, accessibility, and AFVs. Representative Honore, a former Exxon dealer, explained that rising fuel costs are driving industry away from LA and that we have to develop alternative fuels to survive in the new marketplace. “If you can supply industry with resources out of LA, that will make us much more competitive.”

(Randy Hayden, Louisiana Propane Association; Representative Dalton Honore’; Representative Franklin Foil)

Before being appointed to the Natural Resources Committee, Representative Foil had never heard about compressed natural gas (CNG). “[It was] eye-opening to learn about what we could do with that technology.” Foil pointed out that we need to look very closely at the state’s existing AFV tax credits and make the case that those credits will stimulate economic activity. Moreover, we need to modify LA road use fees for AFVs because currently drivers pay the same tax on alternative fuels as gasoline and diesel. As of now, electric vehicles don’t have a road use tax because they don’t operate on a per gallon unit. Moving forward, LA should provide greater tax incentives to build alternative fuel stations.

Bio-CNG Work Truck on display thanks to the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal District

St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal District Operations Technician Faltery “FJ” Jolivette gave an inspiring presentation on the success of pioneering the first biogas fleet in the state and one of only a few in the country. The District extracts methane from decomposing trash and transfers it to a natural gas fueling station nearby. Today, BioCNG fuels 10 St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s office vehicles and five pickup trucks that work on the landfill.

The newly converted CNG Ford F-150, the first of four planned compressed natural gas vehicles for the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry

Gifford Briggs, Vice President of Louisiana Oil & Gas Association, moderated a panel on another alternative fuel success story, featuring Mike Hollier, Tony Tramel, Rob Guidry, and Mark Bruchman. Panelists shared key insights detailing Lafayette’s process of converting its entire fleet of buses and many of its city vehicles to CNG. Briggs noted, “We act like CNG is new in LA, [but] it’s not new; it’s just new here. SoCal has been doing this for 30 years.” CNG is not as dependent on the price of a gallon at the pump like gasoline, and therefore is not nearly as volatile.  Mike Hollier, from Lafayette Consolidated Government (LCG), said the city sent a team to learn from Fortworth, TX who had been running their public transit on CNG for the last 30 years. After two years of research, the consensus was CNG. Hollier put it simply: “Not using CNG in Lafayette is like living in the forest without using the wood.” Hollier assured that in both the short-term and the long-term, CNG infrastructure is a sound investment.

(Gifford Briggs, Louisiana Oil and Gas Association; Rob Guidry, Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce;  Mark Bruchman, Apache; Mike Hollier, Lafayette Consolidated Government and the Lafayette Metropolitan Planning Organization; and Tony Trammel, Lafayette Traffic and Transportation Department)

So how can other cities get started? LCG created a public information video available for those interested in transitioning. The city found that installing three 24-hour CNG fueling stations before they began converting fleets was key to its program’s success. They also recommend replacing city buses at a rate of two/year. The project was funded in part by a grant from the Department of Natural Resources Empower Louisiana Transportation Efficiency and Alternative Fuels Program.

Tony Tramel, also from LCG, explains that one of the main barriers to achieving alternative fuel economies of scale is drivers’ fears that they’ll run out of fuel and be left without access to a fueling station. “If we increase the number of stations, we’ll deal with that fear. Vehicles [also] have to be bi-fuel to address that concern.” Rob Guidry , President and CEO of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, emphasized the importance of private and public partnerships in the alternative fuels industry: “We’ve partnered with everyone on this panel and want to be relevant to all sectors.” Industry is prepared to be a part of clean energy solutions as soon as products are available. Operations General Manager – Natural Gas Development Group of Apache Corporation Mark Bruchman said the best marketing tool is the price tag: “People flood the CNG station after seeing the $1.79/gallon billboard, but then realize it doesn’t work for their [gasoline powered] car.” Apache has been a leader in investing in CNG infrastructure and even donated equipment to Lafayette. In order to be an economically viable market, Briggs reiterates that the state needs to see consumer support for alternative fuels like CNG as well as AFV tax incentives.

AFV Odyssey Expo attendees look under the hood of a propane truck on display thanks to Ferrell Gas

Following the AFV Symposium, the Odyssey event continued with a 2^nd line parade to the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Expo by jazz musician John Gray. The afternoon’s line-up included BioCNG Chevy Pick Up, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Chevy Volt, Honda CNG Civic Gx, Nissan Leaf, Solar EV Charging Station, Propane Truck, Bi-fuel CNG Chevy Tahoe and 2012 Ford F-150 CNG. NAPA Auto & Truck Parts distributed generous gift baskets, and Boudreaux Jr.’s Fiddle Duo provided attendees with music under the oak trees.

Thanks again to all the sponsors, panelists, and exhibitors who contributed to the event’s success!

CNG Tahoe and Civic Gx on display thanks to the      Louisiana Department of Natural Resources

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Volt on display thanks to             Gerry Lane Chevrolet

The National Petroleum Council released their report “Advancing Technology for America’s Transportation Future” on August 1, 2012. This report, which was commissioned by the US Secretary of Energy, has been two years in the making. The NPC also put out a parallel study “Prudent Development” – in this document, the NPC reports that “Beyond the power sector, there is potential for increased use of natural gas to displace oil in the transportation sector.” Their findings in “Prudent Development” included a discovery that our natural gas resource base could supply the US over 100 years of demand at today’s consumption rates. Additionally, 97% of all energy used in the transportation sector currently comes from oil. With this in mind, we consider the findings in the Future Transportation Fuels (FTC) report.

Two years ago in a letter to the NPC, Secretary Chu requested that the final FTF report answer the following question: “What actions could industry and government take to stimulate the technological advances and market conditions needed to reduce life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. transportation sector by 50 percent by 2050 relative to 2005 levels, while enhancing the nation’s energy security and economic prosperity?” To accomplish this goal, over 300 participants representing industry, government, academia, and non-governmental organizations contributed to the study. In addition to natural gas, the study analyzed four other fuel fuels, including biofuels, EV, and hydrogen.

Source: National Petroleum Council

The study recognizes infrastructure barriers to the deployment of alternative fueled vehicles, but also identifies many solutions and short term options for transition periods such as utilizing Flexible-fuel, bi-fuel and plug-in hybrids facilitate transition.  The NPC report suggests ways to surmount the challenges that lie ahead. One such solution is “building on existing infrastructure, corridor-deployment, and multi-fuel vehicles” as a way to overcome infrastructure challenges for wide-scale commercialization of advanced fuel-vehicle systems. These proposed solutions are given as options to facilitate concurrent development of alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure.

The study predicts the following for alternative fuels in the year 2050:

• Internal combustion engines are likely to remain a dominant propulsion technology
• CNG is the strongest economic competitor for the internal combustion engine (ICE)
• Reducing the cost of Plug-In electric Vehicles (PEV) and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) has a big impact on share.
  

  Source: National Petroleum Council

For more details on the study, download a slide overview of the NPC’s Future Transportation Fuels Study

http://www.npc.org/FTFpresentation-80112.pdf or view an easy to navigate version of the full report here. Can’t get enough? View the webcast that announced the publication of the report.

Attention Clean Fuel Stakeholders
Thanks to a partnership between GBRCCC and the Government Fleet Expo (GFX), we are offering a discount to the event being held in Denver from June 18-20. You or your agency’s fleet manager can save $50 on registration just for being a member of our coalition! If you register by Friday, May 25th, you can save an additional $100!

Full schedule is available at the GFX website : http://www.governmentfleetexpo.com

Your conference registration covers:

• 12 hours of education and training that address your top challenges
• 12 hours of on-site and on-the-town networking opportunities
• Two catered breakfasts and two networking lunches
• Special rates at two premier area hotels
• Flash drive containing industry-specific business plans, templates and spreadsheets.
• An exhibit hall filled with the newest vehicles & latest technologies from a wide range of companies

Registration information and additional details are included for you in the PDF attached. Hotel rooms are filling up fast so register today! Please feel free to contact us at GBRCCC  if you have any questions.

In fall of 2011, the Greater Baton Rouge Clean Cities Coalition studied emerging electric vehicle models, charging infrastructures and market potential in order to determine the feasibility of electric vehicles (EVs) in our region.  To gather input from local experts, we hosted an EV Stakeholder Strategy Session on July 19th and an EV Feasibility Forum on Oct. 5, both held at Louisiana State University’s Center for Energy Studies.

The study was submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the national initiative to assess EV viability. We hope the 19-page report will also be a useful resource for our stakeholders. Particularly helpful for the expansion of electric vehicle infrastructure locally will be the 8 maps, which include an illustrated list of our recommended EV charging station locations.

Please take a moment to download the report here: EVfeasibility_GBRCCC

We welcome all suggestions regarding this study. Please send your comments to us at gbrccc@gmail.com

What are the average greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from all-electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)? How do these emissions compare to conventional vehicles?

Answer: In addition to reducing petroleum consumption, EVs and PHEVs have the potential to reduce pollutant emissions, resulting in environmental and human health benefits. Vehicle emissions can be characterized as:

* Upstream: Emissions from the production of the vehicle fuel (e.g., electricity).

* Tailpipe: Emissions produced by a vehicle while operating.

* Well-to-wheel: The combination of upstream and tailpipe emissions.

EV Emissions EVs are often referred to as “zero emission vehicles,” meaning they do not emit any tailpipe emissions. Therefore, the well-to-wheel GHG emissions associated with EV operation are entirely dependent on the source that is used to produce the electricity that powers the vehicle. Emissions from electricity production depend on the efficiency of the power plant and the types of fuel sources used. Based on the U.S. average electricity production fuel mix, the GHG emissions are lower for an EV using electricity generated from power plants than a vehicle running on gasoline or diesel. If electricity is generated from nonpolluting, renewable sources, EVs have the potential to produce no well-to-wheel GHG emissions. On the other hand, EVs powered by electricity generated using coal have the potential to produce more well-to-wheel GHG emissions than gasoline vehicles, depending on the power source.

To determine your region’s specific fuel mix, as well as the emissions rates of electricity based on your zip code, see the U.S Environmental Protection Agency’s Power Profiler (http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/how-clean.html). While factors such as the time of day and season can affect which specific power plant (and fuel mix) provides the vehicle’s electricity, these average emissions rates help approximate the impact of these vehicles. PHEV Emissions PHEVs typically operate either in all-electric mode or using an internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric drivetrain in a manner similar to a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). The emissions vary based on the percent of time that the vehicle is in each operating mode. When operating in all-electric mode, emissions are considered from the source that produced the electricity. When the vehicle’s ICE is running, both the upstream and tailpipe emissions must be taken into account. The tailpipe emissions will vary depending on vehicle efficiency.

Comparing EV and PHEV Emissions to ICE Vehicle Emissions

The following table estimates the well-to-wheel GHG emissions associated with a 100-mile trip in four comparable compact sedans, based on the national average for electricity production emissions. Vehicle GHG Emissions (pounds of CO2 equivalent) EV 54 lb CO2e PHEV 62 lb CO2e HEV 57 lb CO2e Conventional Gasoline 87 lb CO2e The Alternative Fuels & Advanced Vehicle Data Center (AFDC) Compare Electricity Sources and Annual Vehicle Emissions tool (http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/vehicles/electric_emissions.php) allows users to determine an estimate for annual well-to-wheel GHG emissions for an EV, PHEV, HEV, and conventional gasoline vehicle based on the electricity production fuel mix in their area.

In addition, Fueleconomy.gov and EPA’s Green Vehicle Guide (http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/Index.do) provide annual emissions estimates for individual vehicle models.

Thanks to the ICF Technical Response Service for another great Q&A!