Publication Date:27-May-2005
04:35 PM US Eastern Timezone
Source:Breene Kerr-Mercury News
As we all line up to support Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to invest $54 million in public money in his ``Hydrogen Highway'' plan -- and I'm in that line -- I'd like to inject a measure of reality into the discussion. At the Valley Transportation Authority, we're already working with hydrogen power.
Our Zero-Emission Bus Demonstration Program, or ZEB, began in December 2000. Today it includes three hydrogen-powered buses carrying passengers on two of our weekday routes.
Total cost to date: $15 million dollars. Grants from the federal government and cost-sharing arrangements with other Bay Area transit agencies provide most of the funding for this important research.
Riding on one of the buses, as I did on a recent afternoon, is a lot like riding on a regular bus, only quieter and a little smoother. The lack of pollution is a compelling feature of ZEB. The only thing coming out of the exhaust pipe is water vapor, a big advantage over a diesel-powered bus.
ZEB performance in stop-and-go driving is excellent, and driving the bus has now become a plum assignment at the Valley Transportation Authority, driver Charles Brown told me. Unfortunately, keeping them on the road is no simple matter.
Currently, the ZEB program includes two full-time and one part-time specially trained mechanics. One bus is used as a spare, so that's one mechanic a vehicle. So far, the buses haven't been reliable enough to use on our longer routes, like the No. 22 line. In fact, my ride was delayed when a dead fuel-cell starter battery stranded our bus during an extended stop at the Great Mall.
I also found out that the custom Ballard fuel cells will need a complete rebuild in two years, after less than 15,000 miles. Another problem: Gillig, the Bay Area firm that built the buses, has been resistant to making any more of them. They either lost money (at $3.5 million each), or simply can't afford the distraction from their regular business. That's not a problem for now, as the VTA doesn't have the $1 billion or so needed to convert the fleet to hydrogen anyway.
The hydrogen fueling station is an interesting, if somewhat complex, piece of engineering. Once a month, Air Product fills the main station fuel tank with liquid hydrogen. To remain a liquid, the hydrogen must be kept near minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit. As needed, this liquid hydrogen is transformed into a gas with a pressure of 6,000 pounds per square inch and stored in the 11 tanks up on the roof of the bus (good for about 150 miles).
Right now, we're losing approximately 30 percent of the hydrogen to atmospheric venting as an unavoidable part of the storage and fuel-transfer process, before the bus ever goes anywhere.
The future vision of a hydrogen economy eventually replacing our unsustainable dependence on fossil fuels is worth pursuing. In the meantime, Californians need to continue making extraordinary efforts to reduce the 14.8 billion gallons of gasoline used by motorists in the state every year.
Wider use of our public transportation system would be a good place to start.
BREENE KERR is mayor pro tem of Los Altos Hills, an alternate member of the Valley Transportation Authority board and a member of the agency's Policy Advisory Committee.