Compressed Natural Gas
GE Natural Gas Plant to Close 20 Years Early
General Electric has announced that it will close one of its massive natural gas power plants in California by the end of the year. The decision was made despite the fact that the plant has roughly 20 years of remaining useful life and could conceivably operate safely during that time. Deeming the plant too “uneconomical to support further,” GE has stated that it would like to focus more on renewable energies such as wind and solar. GE noted that the plant has been operating below capacity for several years now, and that the technologies currently being used at the plant are outdated. Located in Sun Valley, CA, the Inland Empire Energy Center first began production in 2003 for a cost of roughly $500 million. The 800MW natural gas-fired plant sits on 46 acres in Riverside Count...
CNG Trucks are Hauling Without Emissions
Almost a half trillion dollars worth of goods are imported in the US through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach every year. Almost all the containers that arrive at those ports are hauled relatively short distances to freight distribution facilities located inland by special purpose drayage trucks designed specifically for such short-haul work. At those freight terminals, the containers are hooked up to the long distance tractors that will deliver them to every part of America. With so much cargo coming in, tens of thousands of trips between the ports and the terminals take place all day every day. With rare exceptions, all those drayage trucks are equipped with diesel engines that spew out tremendous quantities of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxide emissions, making th...
Piaggio Launches Alt-fuel Ape for India
They’re small, cramped, loud, stinky, smoky, and weird. They’ve probably caused as much black lung as a Kentucky coal mine, too, if we’re being honest. Nevertheless, my love for the Piaggio Ape trikes seems to grow stronger every day that I’m not allowed to buy one. It’s hard to justify that kind of irrational love for something, but Piaggio is making it a little bit easier by launching new CNG and LPG versions of its venerable little three-wheeler. “The emphasis on alternate fuel technology is growing every day in (India). And hence, we introduced an improved range of alternate fuel vehicles to cater to the markets needs,” said DiegoGraffi, managing director and CEO of Piaggio vehicles. “The customer initiatives and improved range of alterna...
GM Shoots Chevy Impala CNG Fuel Tank To Prove Point
GM decided to shoot the fuel tank on the Chevy Impala CNG with armor-piercing bullets and shove it in a bonfire just to prove how tough it really is.
Colorado Republican Wants to Punish Towns With Fracking Bans
Colorado Republican Frank McNulty wants to pass a law that punishes cities and towns that vote against fracking by diverting hundreds of thousands of state and federal tax dollars away from them.
Texas is Fracked Update: Barnhart is Out of Water
Beverly McGuire has lived in Barnhart, TX for more than thirty years. Like many Texans, she probably didn’t give fracking much thought before her town ran out of water. “The day that we ran out of water I turned on my faucet and nothing was there and at that moment I knew the whole of Barnhart was down the tubes,” she said in a Guardian interview last month, blinking back tears. “I went, ‘Dear God, help us.’ That was the first thought that came to mind.” Despite those prayers, however, Texas has suffered years of sustained drought. On top of that, the oil and gas industry’s demand for water used in fracking are running down reservoirs and aquifers, and contaminating whatever’s left. Rapidly-increasing climate change is working against T...
CNG Taxi Van Maker Suspends Operations, Will Be Sold
Call 2013 the Year of Reckoning for alternative fuel vehicles. There has been a seemingly endless parade of green car companies shutting down, and it isn’t over yet. The latest victim is natural gas taxi builder VPG, which has suspended operations and will soon be sold to the highest bidder. But VPG has the best chance of rising from the ashes as a bigger, better automaker.
Review: 2012 Ram 2500 Heavy Duty CNG
The Ram has Hemi power, burns natural gas, only costs $25 to fill the CNG tanks, and could flatten most family sedans without batting an eye. It’s a set of 36’s away from being a Monster Truck...and yet it still counts as a green vehicle.
Eaton Developing $500 Home CNG Station
Natural gas could be an important stepping stone in America’s quest to develop domestic energy. The problem right now is that natural gas filling stations are expensive and the home models can take 12 hours to fill your car. But major auto parts maker Eaton could bring a much cheaper filling unit to consumers homes in the next few years.
Kia to Focus on CNG Future
If Kia’s chief powertrain engineer gets his way, the Korean automaker will continue its push to reduce harmful carbon emissions by building its future models (like the Rio-based Trackster, above) to run on compressed natural gas (CNG). Dr. Joachim Hahn, speaking to the automotive press at the Geneva auto show last week, voiced his strong support for CNG as a means to a quick, inexpensive way for automakers to cut emissions, saying “With all the work we do on internal combustion engines and hydrogen-powered cars, making big gains in CO2 reduction is either incredibly difficult or incredible expensive. That’s why I see big potential in CNG. It can offer a 20 per cent CO2 reduction just like that – what other technology can give you that?” Indeed, Hahn’s comments...
The CNG Civic GX Returns!
The CNG Honda Civic GX has returned to the Chicago Auto Show this year. Named the 2012 Green Car of the Year by the Green Car Journal, the unassuming sedan looks just like any other 2012 Civic. The only indication that this is not a car running on standard gasoline is the CNG badge on the back, proudly but quietly claiming that this car is one of the cleanest-burning in the world. CNG vehicles (NGVs) are still somewhat of a niche, mostly due to natural gas stations being a little hard to find (the US Department of Energy does have a locator application to find alternative fuel stations), but natural gas burns very cleanly. Just about the only way to be greener with your vehicle is to get something purely electric and then power it with solar panels alone. In addition to being much cleaner-...
Steyr Introduces Fiat-Powered CNG Farm Tractor
Compressed Natural Gas, or CNG, is being touted by some as the solution to our oil problem. And it is true that new technology and discoveries suggest that America is sitting on huge, untapped reserves of shale gas, and the CNG industry is expected to explode in the next decade. With that in mind, Stery has built the first production natural gas-powered farm tractor, and its engine comes from an unlikely place; Fiat.From Italy, With Love The CNG engine is made by Fiat Powertrain Technologies, which as you might imagine is an offshoot of the Fiat autogroup. Fiatis trying to make a comeback in America, though they are off to a slow start. The Italian automaker, which owns 30% of Chrysler, is Europe’s biggest seller of CNG engine technology. And with CNG poised to gain ground in America, Fiat...
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