Natural Gas - Affordable, Abundant and American: Making the care for natural gas in the transportation sector
Due to the recent Gulf oil spill, a collective conscious has begun to ponder the question:When will we stop using oil as a base for transportation fuel, and what will replace it?While it is unlikely that conventional, petroleum-based fuels will be completely replacedin the next decade; it is possible that the ever increasing demand for energy in thetransportation sector could be met by a variety of fuels and technologies. The most likelyoptions include biodiesel, ethanol, compressed natural gas (CNG) and electrification.One of the primary reasons for pursuing alternative fueled vehicles is to decreaseemissions of environmentally harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. As legislation likethe renewable-fuels standards and low-carbon fuel standards intensify, a niche market foralternative fuels is beginning to emerge. The importance of reducing energy demand andcarbon intensities of fuels is going to greatly impact the type of vehicles and choices offuels expected to be manufactured in the future automobile industry. Natural gas, as analternative, is very attractive due to its low price and low carbon intensities. Per unit ofenergy, natural gas contains less carbon than any other fossil fuel, and thus produceslower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per vehicle mile traveled. While there is a currentlack of infrastructure that has greatly limited natural gas use to captive public fleets,commercial industries are beginning to invest in alternative fuel vehicles.Making America less dependent on foreign oil is a national priority. President Obama, inaccepting his party’s nomination, established his own clear goals: “For the sake of oureconomy, our security and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as president: in10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.” While theUnited States imports more than 60 percent of the oil it uses, 98 percent of the natural gasused in the U.S. was produced in North America. Every gallon equivalent of natural gasused in vehicles is one less gallon of petroleum that has to be imported. (Federal NGVTax Incentives, 2010)Despite the recent growth in interest of natural gas, there is still significant obstaclesnatural gas vehicles face in order to capture a major share of the market. Concernsamount around economics-whether the equivalent gasoline or diesel vehicle is cheaper, aswell as concerns about safety and availability of refueling stations. This paperinvestigates evidence around all of these concerns as well as identifies markets wherenatural gas vehicles would be the most efficient.
Year of publication: |
2010-12
|
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Authors: | Kiefhaber, Shannon |
Publisher: |
Georgia Institute of Technology |
Subject: | Natural gas | Alternative fuel | Foreign oil |
Saved in:
freely available
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