December 16, 2013

n ZEB Rule: Coalition members suggest option for bus rulen Technology: Westport introduces new direct injection system

CARB Adopts Optional Low-NOx Standard CARB adopted staff’s proposed optional low-NOx standard for heavy-duty engines at the Board’s Dec. 12 meeting. With the cur-rent mandatory NOx standard pegged at 0.2 grams per brake horsepower-hour (g/bhp-hr), staff proposed a set of optional standards: 0.1 g/bhp-hr, 0.05 g/bhp-hr, and 0.02 g/bhp-hr, corre-sponding to emission levels 50, 75, and 90 percent lower than the existing standard. Several existing programs, such as Carl Moyer, Proposition 1B, and CARB’s truck and bus regula-tion, offer some incentive for optionally certified engines and “could be modified to provide additional incentives for engine manufacturers to meet the pro-posed optional standards,” staff noted in supporting documents.

CleanWorld BioDigester Takes the Prize CleanWorld’s BioDi-gester in Sacramento was named International Bio energy Project of the Year at the Renewable En-ergy World—Power Engineering Awards gala in Orlando, Florida. CleanWorld’s anaerobic digester processes 25 tons of food waste per day into heat, electricity, fertilizer, and natural gas that powers Atlas Disposal waste col-lection trucks in Sacramento. The BioDigester provides the only commercially available fuel that has a negative carbon intensity, meaning that it destroys more

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RNG Event Addresses Hot TopicsCPUC representative says AB 1900 rules are imminent; CARB speaker reports on LCFS credits and status

Last week’s RNG 2013 Conference in San Diego lived up to its theme of “Fuel, Heat, Power, and Policy” with sessions covering the entire spectrum of renewable natural gas concerns,

including credits under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and pipeline access.The three-day conference, sponsored by the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas, at-

tracted about 100 people representing project developers, utilities, technology specialists, analysts, and state agencies. Two of conference’s panels addressed topics of particular inter-est to Coalition members.

The “Transportation Fuel Policy Drivers: LCFS” panel included a CARB representative, Mike Waugh, who spoke positively about RNG in particular and natural gas generally, noting that natural gas currently generates 10 percent of LCFS credits. He said that while CARB expects further attacks on the LCFS program in 2014, the agency will defend it. He also indicated that updates and amendments to the LCFS program will likely include a credit cost–containment provision.

“California’s AB 1900 Pipeline Access Rules” may have been the most closely anticipated panel, and it did not disappoint. CPUC representative Jennifer Kalafut said the agency will propose rules governing RNG injection into California pipelines within a week or two, and that the CPUC is also trying to streamline the process that will enable RNG access. She said the CPUC plans for the new rules to replace current guidance and be incorporated into California gas utilities’ tariffs—the official rates and terms of service under which state utilities operate. In addition, based on CARB and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) legwork on RNG, the CPUC aims to focus its gas-testing requirements on 17 constituents (12 for health and five for pipeline safety).

Details on testing, other issues are still in play Several details remain to be worked out, such as who will pay for testing RNG. Regulators also must consider that the Sempra Energy utilities specify a higher heating value for gas in their pipeline system than other U.S. utilities; this creates a challenge for RNG, which has a lower heating value than what these utilities require. One potential solution involves blending RNG and propane, but doing so would impose additional costs on RNG producers seeking pipeline access.

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December 16, 2013

carbon than it creates. A Phase II project is under way, which will quadruple the plant’s intake capacity to 100 tons per day, in-creasing CNG output to 700,000 gallons a year.

Westport Offers Free CNG Westport Innovations is offer-ing free fuel to buyers of five or more Westport WiNG Power System–equipped Ford pickups. Customers who order at least five of Westport’s bifuel- or CNG-powered trucks by Dec. 31 will receive a credit of 500 gges in CNG fuel per truck at Clean Energy stations, a savings of up to $1,195 per truck. The more trucks a customer orders, the more free fuel comes with each one, up to 2,500 gges per truck for orders of 50 or more. The program is capped at 750,000 gges of free fuel.

CNG 4x4 Vans Debut In what the company says is an industry first, Quigley Motors is offering CNG-powered four-wheel-drive GM vans. The company installs its Trailmaker FS 4x4 system on GM van models with a 155-inch wheelbase, which IMPCO Auto-motive has converted for CNG operation.

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In addition, CARB and the CEC will soon contract for baseline testing of feedstocks other than the landfill and dairy waste sources that have been the focus of most testing. Testing is likely to take a year and may result in further OEHHA recommendations to the CPUC.

Other notable panels at RNG 2013 addressed the politics of the national Renewable Fuel Standard (the takeaway: RNG is popular in Congress but is only a small fish in a big pond that’s roiled by battles over ethanol); compression, liquefaction, fueling, and vehicle conversion; and financing mechanisms and revenue streams that can help ensure RNG projects’ health and success. w

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Coalition Members Promote ZEB Option

Regulation

A performance-based bus option could help transit agencies make greater progress toward California’s zero-emission bus (ZEB) goals than the current technology-based regulation is

producing, according to an analysis developed by Coalition members Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and Gladstein, Neandross & Associates (GNA).

SoCalGas commissioned GNA to evaluate cost-effective alternatives to the current ZEB regu-lation in 2011, when it became clear that the ZEB rule was not delivering the desired results. GNA concluded that an optional performance-based standard for buses would help transit agencies reduce emissions while waiting for battery-electric and fuel-cell buses that meet price and reliability goals. GNA noted that current battery-electric and fuel-cell technologies are significantly more expensive per operating mile than fuels such as natural gas, and urged CARB to revert to its traditional technology- and fuel-neutral stance, allowing transit agencies to meet emissions goals in the most cost-effective way possible.

Over the last several months, SoCalGas, GNA, and Coalition staff have shared this concept with several of the largest transit agencies in the state, as well as with CARB. Feedback from the agencies has been very positive.

CARB has postponed compliance with the 2000 ZEB regulation twice, most recently in Janu-ary 2012, and is still evaluating the commercial readiness and reliability of electric and fuel-cell bus technology. At a Dec. 3 ZEB workshop in Oakland, CARB staff presented some concepts for further development, solicited feedback on those ideas, and demonstrated ZEB technology. Co-alition board member Ed Harte, the Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) Program manager at SoCalGas, urged CARB to consider an optional performance–based standard as a more effective strategy for reducing transit bus emissions now, especially considering the problems that the current regulatory uncertainty causes for fleets, which depend on reliable, economical technologies. CARB staff responded that they are supportive of performance-based approaches but feel they must pursue a zero-emission mandate to meet the state’s 2050 goals.

CARB is scheduled to revisit the current ZEB regulation in May 2014 and evaluate whether to require transit agencies to begin purchasing zero-emission buses. w

Westport Unveils New Technology Westport Innovations has introduced a new high-pressure direct injection system, HPDI 2.0, to serve as the core of its natural gas engines. The system uses small amounts of diesel fuel to ignite larger quantities of natural gas, maintaining the fuel efficiency and power of high-performance diesel engines while eliminating damaging engine knock that can occur in spark-ignited gaso-line or natural gas engines. Westport says the HPDI 2.0 system scales smoothly from 10-liter to 100-liter engines, and the company will also offer a new generation of fuel tank, fuel pump, and control systems to complement the new combustion technology. w