Clean Transportation Education Project Workshop Highlights Propane and Natural Gas as Transportation Fuels
On Wednesday, July 14, 2010, the Regional Planning Commission’s Southeast Louisiana Clean Fuel Partnership hosted a free workshop on propane and natural gas as transportation fuels. The event was part of the Clean Transportation Education Project (CTEP), a series of national workshops on biodiesel, ethanol, natural gas, propane, fuel economy and idle reduction led by North Carolina State University through a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. Additional sponsors of the event included Wake Technical Community College, Clean Energy, Ferrellgas, Chesapeake Energy, and CleanFUEL USA. Read More

CTEP attendees looking under the hood of a
propane-powered Ferregllgas fleet truck.

Clean Energy and Park ’N Fly Receive EmPower Louisiana Grant from LDNR to Install Public CNG Station, Retrofit Vehicles
Taking advantage of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources’ EmPower Louisiana Transportation Efficiency & Alternative Fuels Program, Clean Energy partnered with Park ’N Fly New Orleans to successfully apply for grant funding to install a public compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station near the New Orleans airport and convert Park ’N Fly’s fleet to run on CNG. The move to CNG is expected to reduce Park ’N Fly’s fuel costs by approximately $6,000 per year per shuttle and their greenhouse gas emissions by 30%, all while using a domestically produced fuel. Read More

Online Tools Help Fleet & Maintenance Managers Explore Clean Transportation Options
The US Department of Energy (USDOE) provides a variety of online tools that give fleet and maintenance managers practical information to help them to incorporate cleaner transportation options into their fleets. The Clean Fuel Partnership’s most recent Clean Fuel Forum highlighted three USDOE websites: The national Clean Cities Website, FuelEconomy.gov, and the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center (AFDC)
Read More

Clean Transportation Education Project Workshop Highlights
Propane and Natural Gas as Transportation Fuels

On Wednesday, July 14, 2010, the Regional Planning Commission’s Southeast Louisiana Clean Fuel Partnership hosted a free workshop on propane and natural gas as transportation fuels. The event was part of the Clean Transportation Education Project (CTEP), a series of national workshops on biodiesel, ethanol, natural gas, propane, fuel economy and idle reduction led by North Carolina State University through a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. CTEP provided the keynote speaker, Rich Cregar, a GlaxoSmithKline Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Emerging Issues at N.C. State University and an Instructor in Automotive Systems Technologies and Green Transportation Technologies at Wake Technical Community College. Additional speakers included industry professionals from Clean Energy, Chesapeake Energy, and CleanFuel USA as well as local businessmen Steve Chambers of Doctor Pipe and Don Duvernay of Airport Shuttle who talked about their experiences running fleets on natural gas and propane, respectively. Airport shuttle and Ferrellgas also provided propane-powered vehicles to give attendees a firsthand look at cleaner transportation options.

Response to the workshop was overwhelmingly positive. Twenty-four people attended the workshop, with over 70% representing fleets interested in transitioning to cleaner fuels. Participants enjoyed the technical perspective of the subject matter, as well as being able to see clean fuel vehicles in person and talk to fleet managers currently using the fuels. One attendee noted: “Wonderful to have fleet managers speak and give their real-world experience.”

CTEP is a 2 year initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to provide alternative fuel and advanced transportation technology workshops across the US. The CTEP workshop series seeks to highlight how the use of alternative fuels, such as propane and natural gas, can save money, reduce harmful transportation related emissions and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. The Clean Fuel Partnership will host its second workshop in the CTEP series in April 2011 with a focus on ethanol.

More information on natural gas as a transportation fuel can be found at: http://cleanfuelpartnership.org/content/view/25/42/

Links to our sponsors’ web sites:

• Clean Energy
• Clean Fuel USA
• Chesapeake Energy
• Ferrellgas

Clean Energy and Park ’N Fly Receive LDNR EmPower Louisiana Grant to Install Public CNG
Station, Integrate CNG Vehicles into Shuttle Fleet

Taking advantage of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources’ EmPower Louisiana Transportation Efficiency & Alternative Fuels Program, Clean Energy partnered with Park ’N Fly New Orleans to successfully apply for grant funding to install a public compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station near the New Orleans airport and convert Park ’N Fly’s fleet to run on CNG. The move to CNG is expected to reduce Park ’N Fly’s fuel costs by approximately $6,000 per year per shuttle and their greenhouse gas emissions by 30%, all while using a domestically produced fuel.

New CNG Fueling Station
Anticipated to open in 2011, the new public CNG fueling station will be installed at Park ’N Fly’s lot at 1017 Airline Drive in Kenner, adjacent to the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The station will utilize an existing natural gas pipeline which eliminates fuel delivery costs and increases reliability. Since the station will be located on Park ’N Fly’s property, Park ’N Fly shuttles will not need to leave the site to fuel resulting in savings on both time and fuel.

According to Jimmy Ramsey, Clean Energy’s Business Development Manager, “return to base” fleet operations such as transit buses, trash trucks, airport shuttle/taxi fleets and heavy duty delivery trucks are ideal for natural gas fueling, making the partnership with Park ’N Fly a good fit for CNG. Having an anchor fleet such as Park ’N Fly also makes installing the infrastructure for a public station more economically feasible.

This is not Clean Energy’s first CNG fueling station at an airport. Clean Energy builds and operates CNG fueling stations nationwide, including 23 airport CNG fueling stations with plans to build 5-6 additional airport stations in 2011. One example, the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, currently operates over 500 vehicles on CNG and offers incentives to taxis that run on CNG. The Park ’N Fly station will help open up the CNG market in New Orleans and provide other fleet operators in and around the airport access to a clean, domestically-produced vehicle fuel.

Integrating CNG Shuttles
As its gasoline-powered vehicles are retired due to normal attrition, Park ’N Fly plans to purchase new shuttles that have been up-fitted to run on CNG. This spreads the cost of conversion over several years and makes the switch more economically feasible. Once the new CNG vehicles arrive, Clean Energy will work closely with drivers to ensure a smooth transition, especially with fueling the vehicles, an easy but often initially intimidating process.

Once all 13 shuttles are running on CNG, Park ’N Fly will be replacing approximately 45,500 gallons of gasoline annually with clean CNG fuel. Other than noticing the reduced emissions, especially while waiting at the airport parking garage pick-up location, customers may also notice lower vehicle noise- CNG vehicles are typically 20% quieter than a diesel shuttle.

Future of CNG in Transportation
In looking forward on the viability of alternative fuels in the US, Jimmy Ramsey states, “Clean Energy believes natural gas will play an important role in diversifying our nation’s fuel portfolio. The US has a lot of methane gas [the primary component of natural gas] whether we drill for it, collect it from our landfills, or produce it as a byproduct of our agriculture industry.”

LDNR’s EmPower Louisiana program funds innovative and emerging renewable energy technologies that have proven commercial viability within the State of Louisiana. For more information visit: www.empowerlouisiana.org

For more information on Clean Energy visit: www.cleanenergyfuels.com

Online Tools Help Fleet & Maintenance Managers Explore Clean Transportation Options

The US Department of Energy (USDOE) provides a variety of online tools that provide maintenance managers with practical information on incorporating cleaner transportation options into their fleets. The Clean Fuel Partnership’s September 8th Clean Fuel Forum highlighted three USDOE websites: The national Clean Cities Website, FuelEconomy.gov, and the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center (AFDC),a partnership between USDOE and the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Thirteen people attended the event including public and private fleet and maintenance mangers and representatives from the clean fuel industry. Below is an overview of the tools and information available on the three web sites as well as links to helpful tools on the AFDC web site:

Alternative Fuel & Advanced Vehicle Data Center (AFDC):
www.afdc.energy.gov,
The AFDC web site provides technical information on alternative fuels, vehicles, and technologies, as well as fleet specific information such as:

• Fleet Applications Specific fleet considerations to think about when deciding on incorporating alternative fuels in your fleet.
• Fleet Experiences:Fleet Experiences: Information on fleets that have successfully integrated alternative fuels and advanced vehicles, dealt with infrastructure issues, and obtained funding.
• Petroleum Reduction Planning Tool:Measures the impact alternative fuels and advanced technologies could have on your fleet's overall performance and assesses potential petroleum reductions.
• GREET Fleet Footprint Calculator:Assists in measuring the petroleum displacement and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and off-road equipment using simple spreadsheet inputs.
  

  Also included on the website:
  

• Incentives & Laws:A searchable database of federal and state incentives and laws that helps fleet operators find grant funding, tax rebates, and applicable regulations related to clean fuels in their area.
• Data, Analysis and Trends: Excel spreadsheets, charts and reports based on USDOE’s National Renewable Laboratory review and analysis of transportation-related data to identify trends related to alternative fuels and vehicles.
• Information Resources:Access to publications, videos, tools, glossary, educational activities and other resources related to clean transportation options

Clean Cities: www1.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/
The Southeast Louisiana Clean Fuel Partnership is one of 87 USDOE Clean Cities Coalitions nationwide. The national Clean Cities web site provides information on Clean Cities Coalitions, including their activities and locations, and on financial opportunities to implement Clean Cities projects. The Information Resources page provides access to the most recentClean Cities Now , a biannual newsletter of Clean Cities activities, as well as technology bulletins which provide technical details on industry-related topics of interest.

FuelEconomy.gov: www.fueleconomy.gov
A partnership between USDOE and USEPA, FuelEconomy.gov provides side-by-side vehicle comparisons on fuel economy, fuel costs, and emissions. The information can be customized for your vehicle’s total annual miles driven, percent highway vs. city driving, and local fuel costs. The site also includes tips for improving your fuel economy and information on alternative fuel vehicles, such as hybrid, electric, flex fuel, and fuel cell vehicles.

AFDC Tools

USDOE's Alternative Fuel and Advanced Data Center (AFDC) provides useful tools for fleet operators and maintenance managers interested in or already incorporating cleaner transportation options into their operations. Links to the AFDC tools are grouped by category at: (http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/applications.html)

All Clean Fuel Partnership newsletters are available here as pdf documents:

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