The NGVAmerica newsletter

Natural Gas Excise Tax Credit Again Moves Forward in the Senate

The Senate began the week with the consideration of its version of legislation to extend several expired tax provisions -- including a provision to extend until 12/31/2010 the federal excise tax credit for natural gas when used as a transportation fuel. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it is expected that the Senate will complete the consideration of this bill sometime this coming week. In late December 2009, the House passed its version of tax extenders legislation, also includes the natural gas excise tax extension. So, once the Senate has acted, a conference with the House must take place to iron out any differences between the two bills. For more information, contact Paul Kerkhoven a 202.824.7363 or pkerkhoven@ngvamerica.org

At its recent winter meeting, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) approved a resolution to support pipeline quality biomethane development as a renewable gas resource in the clean energy economy. The NARUC resolution on biomethane urged the U.S. Congress to pass legislation to provide "unequivocal support for pipeline quality biomethane development in order to achieve significant greenhouse gas reductions in the transition to a clean energy economy." The association asked that federal incentives for the development of pipeline quality biomethane gas be provided on a par with incentives afforded for other resources for producing renewable electricity. In its resolution, NARUC noted that "emerging renewable sources of natural gas have great potential to complement the critical role of traditional natural gas suppliers in the clean energy economy." In addition, it stated that biogas, primarily methane, derived from organic materials through anaerobic digestion and thermal gasification "can be captured, cleaned and converted into biomethane through the use of proven gas conditioning technologies, transported by the existing gas pipeline system, stored and/or delivered for productive use in renewable electricity generation, clean transportation, or commercial, industrial and residential end use." For more information, contact Rich Kolodziej at 202.824.7366 or rkolodziej@ngvamerica.org

York County (South Carolina) Natural Gas Authority has announced that it has been awarded $49,594 to convert seven Ford F-150 light duty trucks to CNG. Over the life of the vehicles, the Authority estimates that it will save more than $97,000 from reduced fuel costs. The project is being funded by the South Carolina Budget and Control Board’s State Energy Office. To be considered for these grants, projects had to foster market penetration of clean energy technologies, provide sustained reduction of fossil fuel consumption and create permanent jobs in South Carolina. Organizations must implement the projects within two years of receiving the award. For more information, contact Rich Kolodziej at 202.824.7366 or rkolodziej@ngvamerica.org

NGVAmerica provides sponsorship support of the series, which has been presented to more than 2700 registrants since its inception in November 2007. The workshop features a comprehensive "A-to-Z" curriculum, an outdoor vehicle display, guest presentations and a CNG station site visit. Guest fleet operator presenters at this event included Kris Kyler of Indiana Geothermal and Russ Barnett of the Town of Smithtown NY Department of Environment & Waterways. Kyler has a 100 percent CNG fleet of service trucks and operates his own public access CNG station. Barnett implemented a successful 100 percent CNG refuse truck contract requirement in 2007, which has now been replicated in several surrounding communities.

A number of NGV equipment and service suppliers supported the event through their sponsorship of tabletop displays including: ANGI Energy (also continental breakfast sponsor); IMW Industries (also refreshment break sponsor); Luxfer Gas Cylinders; Chart Inc/NexGen Fueling; Emission Solutions Inc; Chapman Honda; Fab Industries/AFV Fleet Service; Advance Fuel Systems, Corp (AFSC); CNG Services of Arizona; Natural Drive; BAF Technologies; and CP Industries.

The outdoor vehicle display included bi-fuel and dedicated sedans and pick-up trucks from Natural Drive, Baytech Corporation, BAF Technologies, Altech-Eco, IMPCO and American Honda. At the close of the session, a number of workshop participants boarded CNG shuttles for a site visit to Clean Energy’s nearby CNG station. For more information about the Tucson NGV Workshop and other Arizona NGV market development efforts, contact TCC’s Colleen Crowninshield or Kathryn Van Kirk at 520.792.1093 or ccrowninshield@pagnet.org or kvankirk@pagnet.org. See below for more information about upcoming CVEF co-hosted "Compelling Case…" workshops.

Additional "Compelling Case for NGVs…" workshops are scheduled throughout the rest of 2010 (and a few are already being slated for 2011!). Next up are workshops in:

1. Raleigh, NC – March 16th (Raleigh Convention Center) http://www.cleanvehicle.org/workshop/Raleigh.shtml
2. Denver, CO – May 18th (Crowne Plaza @ Denver International Airport) http://www.cleanvehicle.org/workshop/Denver.shtml
3. Arlington, VA – May 26th (Crystal City Hilton @ Reagan National Airport) http://www.cleanvehicle.org/workshop/Arlington.shtml

Natural gas vehicle, equipment and service suppliers are encouraged to take advantage of these highly-rated workshops. They’re a cost-effective way to reach fleet operators the 2010 workshop dates and locations, visit CVEF’s workshop web site at http://www.cleanvehicle.org/workshop/index.shtml or contact Stephe Yborra at 301-829-2520 or syborra@ngvamerica.org

Final preparations are underway for this week’s National Truck Equipment Association’s (NTEA) Green Truck Summit (March 9-10) and Work Truck Show (March 10-12), slated for the America’s Center in St Louis. The Green Truck Summit is packed full of sessions about NGVs and natural gas as a transportation fuel, including Calstart’s Mike Ippoliti and Waste Management’s Chuck White who will discuss renewable natural gas in fleet applications; and NGVAmerica’s Stephe Yborra who will an NGV session with speakers Mike Eaves (Clean Energy), Bill Zobel (Trillium), Patric Ouellette (Cummins Westport) and Andy Douglas (Kenworth); DOE Clean Cities program Co-Director Dennis Smith, Clean Fuels Ohio Executive Director Sam Spofforth and St Louis Regional Clean Cities Coalition Executive Director Kevin Herdler will also be making presentations at the event. NGVAmerica will be exhibiting at the Work Truck Show, as will a number of our members including Trillium, Cummins Westport, Clean Energy, Emission Solutions Inc, ANGI Energy, GreenField Compression, and Baker Equipment. The outdoor vehicle display at the Work Truck Show includes a variety of CNG-powered pick-up trucks, vans, SUV/cross-over vans and medium-heavy-duty work trucks from Freightliner, BAF Technologies, and Baker Equipment. NGVAmerica coordinated with the St. Louis Clean Cities Coalition and Laclede Gas to promote the event to fleets in the region, offering complimentary passes to fleet operators that requested them. Despite the tough economy, turnout for this year’s NTEA event is expected to be very strong and NGVs are featured more prominently than ever before. For more information about the NTEA Green Truck Summit and Work Truck Show, visit their web site at http://www.ntea.com/worktruckshow/index.aspx?id=938 or contact Stephe Yborra at 301.829.2520 or syborra@ngvamerica.org.

On Wednesday, Tulsa, OK Mayor Dewey Bartlett signed an executive order creating a Sustainability Department to oversee the $3.8 million in new energy and sustainability initiatives funded with federal stimulus grant money. Bartlett said the initiatives will focus on having the city use more alternative fuels and making government more energy-efficient. At the news conference announcing the new department, the Mayor discussed the city’s efforts to switch to using more NGVs and the funding that will

allow both the expansion of CNG fueling stations in the city, as well as CNG conversions and new vehicle purchases for the city’s "green fleet" of automobiles.

For more information, contact Rich Kolodziej at 202.824.7366 or rkolodziej@ngvamerica.org

Altech-Eco Corporation of Asheville, North Carolina has announced that they have obtained a Certificate of Conformity (COC) from the EPA for their dedicated 2010 Ford Transit Connect CNG conversion system. This is the first EPA-certified CNG system for the 2010 Transit Connect. The conversion system includes manufacturer-rated CNG cylinders with fuel storage capacity starting at of 9.3 GGE and an extended option of 14.4 GGE’s, with a natural gas driving range of 240 - 400 miles and an average of 31 mpg on the highway and 25 in the city. The CNG conversion system for the 2010 Ford Transit Connect is now available at select participating Ford dealerships and approved aftermarket conversion facilities, or by contacting Altech-Eco. For more information, contact Altech-Eco at 828.654.8300.

The town of La Cañada, California, which contracts with the town of Glendale for bus service, will now be served by a natural gas bus. The new 35-foot CNG bus, which cost $403,000, was paid for with city revenue generated by Proposition A, a half-cent county sales tax. "These buses typically have a life expectancy of about 15 years, but our older bus has gone far above and beyond that," said Carl Alameda, a senior management analyst for the city. For more information, contact Rich Kolodziej at 202.824.7366 or rkolodziej@ngvamerica.org

Mercedes-Benz Australia is now offering a factory-built bi-fuel natural gas truck in the Australian marketplace – the EU5-compliant Sprinter NGT. This bi-fuel vehicle is available as the 316 NGT (Mid-Wheelbase and Long-Wheelbase van and cab-chassis) and the 516 NGT (single cab-chassis). With the aid of mechanical supercharging, the engine develops an output of 115 kW. These figures apply whether in natural gas or gasoline operation, outperforming the previous versions of Sprinter available in Australia. An operating range of up to 750 miles is achieved using both fuels. When operating on natural gas, the standard Sprinter NGT is able to cover around 125 to 280 miles depending on the model. The Sprinter comes with three CNG cylinders fitted as standard, plus a 26 GGE gasoline tank. Three additional CNG cylinders can be fitted as an optional extra. All tanks are fitted under the body so there’s no loss of space in the body of the van. For more information, contact Rich Kolodziej at 202.824.7366 or rkolodziej@ngvamerica.org

On Friday, Mannheim’s Rainer Zietlow’s two part NGV marathon took him to Washington, DC. Zietlow is in the process of driving a CNG powered VW Caddy Maxi EcoFuel 40,000 km from Portugal via Moscow and Seoul to Japan and then from Tierra del Fuego (Chile) via the U.S. East Coast, including Washington DC, to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska. The vehicle has been specially adapted with supplemental natural gas tanks which allow it to drive the USA from coast to coast without utilizing gasoline. Over the course of the tour the Caddy, compared to a comparable gasoline vehicle, the CNG VW Caddy will emit two tons less of CO2. Those interested learning more about the natural gas long distance tour can do so around the clock by accessing the following two websites: www.ecofuel-eurasia.com and www.ecofuel-transamerica.com For more information contact Paul Kerkhoven at 202.824.7363 or pkerkhoven@ngvamerica.org

For comments on the content of this newsletter or for mailing list changes, contact Rich Kolodziej at rkolodziej@NGVAmerica.org.