On August 14th, leaders from across the region gathered together for the Peoples Alternative Fuel Vehicle Summit. Hosted at Peoples’ facility in Wilkinsburg, industry experts discussed the current state of transportation, and how recent developments in technology and demand are affecting market trends for alternative fuel vehicles, such as electric and natural gas vehicles. These experts also provided insight on the infrastructure required to support alternative fuel vehicles and some of the most popular applications for businesses.
Buzz Tabone of Zoresco Equipment honed in on specific commercial market applications of natural gas vehicles and talked through how to start your case analysis for CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicles.
"Approach any situation as an exploration of ideas," Tabone offered. “That’s really where it has to start. You have to make sure you’re wielding the correct information for your situation.”
Matt Good of P.C. McKenzie also dove into the many factors that companies should consider before upgrading their fleet to natural gas, such as pressure and load demands, environmental conditions, and available real estate.
“There are a couple of keys to success, and one is “defining the operating conditions.” There’s a big difference between a school district and a taxi service,” Good explained. “They have different needs and demands. And you have to plan to expand.”
With over 153,000 natural gas vehicles being used in the U.S. alone, NGV infrastructure is growing rapidly. And with impressive grants available like the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Program (AFIG) — which can reimburse a company for up to 100% of the incremental cost of conversion to CNG or LNG — all of our speakers agreed that now is an excellent time to evaluate whether natural gas vehicles may be a good fit for your company.
Not only is the NGV infrastructure expanding, but the technology itself is growing, too. One of these cutting-edge advancements is the opportunity to refuel a compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle off of a low-pressure private gas line. David Newton of Ingevity spoke about how they're unlocking the potential of low-pressure bi-fuel vehicles using activated carbon.
“When you think about the 60 million homes and 5 million businesses in the United States that have access to natural gas,” explained Newton, “for a very small capital requirement, a small compressor could refuel a vehicle and eliminate the need for an investment in a high-pressure refueling station.”
Summit attendees were able to see one of these Ingevity vehicles up-close, along with other natural gas vehicles from UPMC, Range Resources, Compass Natural Gas, and Peoples’ own fleet, which was converted with the help of Zoresco. Attendees were also able to check out Peoples’ CNG refueling station on-site at our Wilkinsburg facility, which was designed by P.C. McKenzie.
"We are committed to bringing our customers and operations practices together," says William Sapon, Clean Energy & Transportation Advisor at Peoples. "Our investment in critical clean energy and transportation technology reflects this. It brings us closer to those we serve while providing the momentum to modernize grid infrastructures over the next five years."
Our region’s businesses and institutions are facing risks ranging from rising fleet fuel costs to the availability of alternative fueling infrastructure. Navigating these challenges will take careful consideration for the future. At Peoples, we’re committed to growing the alternative fuels market to help businesses increase savings and reduce emissions, and to help mitigate environmental and health impacts in our backyard.
Compared to gasoline-powered engines, natural gas produces 75% less carbon monoxide, 50% less nitrogen oxides, and 25% less carbon dioxide. With the opportunity to use renewable natural gas (RNG) by capturing methane from areas like landfills, those environmental benefits become even more pronounced. As air quality continues to be a serious issue, this opportunity to reduce emissions and clean up our air is a solution that makes a positive difference for everyone who calls this region home.
“74% of trucks on the road do not meet current EPA standards because of their age,” said Dan Gage of NGVAmerica. “If we want to clean our air, we’ve got to clean our fleets.”
“We have a clean air crisis in this country,” he added. “The question is, are we going to address it today? Or are we going to wait?”
As an energy company, Peoples is excited to collaborate with so many outstanding partners to think about new creative approaches to transportation challenges. Our goal is to fuel innovative, alternative solutions that best support our customers and our region.
