Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85369
UPFRONT It's only natural As diesel prices continue to rise, a groundswell of interest in natural gas vehicles emerges BY JEFF CRISSEY A t its natural gas customer event in Denton, Texas, in February, Peterbilt admittedly was overwhelmed by the number of attendees, which included more than 180 end-user customers and dealers. The strong turnout – more than double the number of most Peterbilt func- tions – underscores a huge uptick in interest for vehicle offerings with natural gas engines to offset the rise in diesel prices, which just a week before had surpassed $4 per gallon on average. Kudos to the Peterbilt folks for the event's impeccable timing. A week later during a visit to the Daimler Trucks North America manufacturing facility in Mount Holly, N.C., President Obama announced a $1 bil- lion National Community Deployment Challenge designed to spur deployment of clean advanced vehicles in communities across the country. Under his program, the federal government will help communi- ties that buy vehicles powered by alterna- tive energy to "cut Natural gas fueling stations increasingly are coming online. through the red tape and build fueling stations nearby." Obama also announced incentives to help con- sumers and businesses purchase new advanced cars and trucks, including increasing and expanding the current tax credit for advanced vehicles from the $7,500 credit that currently exists up to $10,000, while allowing the credit to be applied to addition- al types of technologies not currently covered. Natural gas solutions also made a splash at this year's Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., where alternative fuel engines were visible at virtually every OEM booth. Cummins kicked off the slate of natural gas engine news during its pre- MATS press event, where the engine maker announced it is working on development of a 15-liter natural gas engine using a spark ignition system, a product it expects to bring to market in 2015. Cummins also is nearing completion of an 11.9-liter natural gas engine – the ISX12 G – as part of a joint partnership with Westport based on the Cummins ISX12 engine platform. Full produc- tion on that engine is expected to begin early next year. "Natural gas engines will play an increasingly important role in this trucking industry, " says Ed Pence, vice president and general manager, Cum- mins Heavy-Duty Engine Business. As I wrote in a column last year, natural gas engine adoption continues to be stymied by slow infrastructure development, but as several present- ers indicated at the Peterbilt natural gas customer event, natural gas fueling stations increasingly are coming online. Natural gas suppliers such as Linde LNG Solutions and Southeast LNG already are offering and installing turnkey solutions for fleets with enough capacity to warrant dedicated fueling stations. And Clean Energy is spending $500 million in 2012 deploying natural gas infrastructure. The company, which has exclusive build rights at Pilot Flying J stations, has completed five fueling instal- lations and has another 32 currently under con- struction with a goal of 90 sites by yearend. Overall, it plans to install 150 natural gas fueling stations in the next two years along major goods movement corridors, roughly every 250-300 miles. "It's not just a California or Texas thing any- more, " says Shaunt Hartounian, business develop- ment manager for Clean Energy. As long as the spread in price between natural gas and diesel fuel remains – currently between $1.50 and $2 per diesel gallon equivalent – and as the fueling infrastructure continues to be built out, more fleets will have to take a closer look at natural gas engine technology, the potential cost savings and the significant upfront investment, which ranges between $40,000 and $80,000 per vehicle depending on engine size. JEFF CRISSEY is Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail jcrissey@ccjmagazine.com. 6 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | APRIL 2012 NEXT MONTH Check back in CCJ's May issue for a special report on alter- native fuels. We'll explore the advantages and differences between vari- ous alternative fuel options, infrastructure buildout and the opportunities for municipalities and over-the- road fleets to adopt the tech- nology in the Class 8 market.