I've written in the past about the potential for natural gas as an economical and abundant source of fuel for transportation. What has been missing is, of course, sufficient local distribution... fueling stations.
First, why NG is so economically appealing:
The oil gas ratio hit a new record high today with gas trading at $3.11/mmBtu and WTI going for $101.25/bbl yielding an energy ratio of 5.61. In simple terms this means gas is trading at the equivalent of $18.05/bbl crude. SOURCEWith gasoline somewhere around $3.30 per gallon, that's equivalent to roughly $0.60 per gallon presuming equivalent conversion and transportation costs. Imagine what that could do for the cost of ownership.
A former colleague of mine said that he heard the CEO of an automotive company [we'll keep this anonymous] speaking in December and he mentioned that future automotive plans could include big-time expansion of CNG-powered vehicles [Compressed Natural Gas]. The idea and the vehicles are nothing new, of course. Most likely, it is larger vehicles that would most benefit from this fuel because smaller vehicles present a challenge of fitting the CNG tank into a small space. Taxi fleets have used them for decades. And, recently, Ford Motor Company has has large success selling CNG-powered commercial Transit vans. What will be needed for private-use vehicles, as mentioned earlier, is broader NG distribution... probably CNG lanes at gas stations... or dedicated stations like the one above in Chicago. NG already has the distributive infrastructure because millions of homes and businesses are already paying for the pipelines carrying that fuel. It's simply the new distributive points that have to be built. Of course, there is always the political process which may be a bigger obstacle than the technological ones.
Still, when it comes to supply, it looks as if there is an anticipation of surging supply ... despite or because of relative low prices and higher demand.
October was another record-setting month for the world's largest natural gas producer, as the U.S. produced all-time record amounts of both gross withdrawals and dry production (consumer-grade gas), according to new data released today by the Energy Information Administration. SOURCE
Perhaps more people simply have the same attitude that I do:
When it comes to natural gas, I'm a big fan... and purchaser... personally. Besides heating our home with a high efficiency NG furnace, we have an NG fireplace capable of heating our home [at about the same efficiency of 1980s furnaces] as an emergeny backup, plus an NG whole-house generator should there be power outages [our edge-of-the-suburban-area has lots of trees and overhead wires that tangle with each other during storms].
I think that Honda also may have had a good idea... just too far ahead of its time.
When it comes to natural gas, I'm a big fan... and purchaser... personally. Besides heating our home with a high efficiency NG furnace, we have an NG fireplace capable of heating our home [at about the same efficiency of 1980s furnaces] as an emergeny backup, plus an NG whole-house generator should there be power outages [our edge-of-the-suburban-area has lots of trees and overhead wires that tangle with each other during storms].
I think that Honda also may have had a good idea... just too far ahead of its time.
SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2009The Natural Gas Fuel Alternative For Trucks