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Comment by James Everitt on July 9, 2009 at 1:00pm

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Fed energy bill lights fire under natural gas
By Mark Jaffe
The Denver Post
Posted: 07/09/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT


Former Sen. Tim Wirth said other industries fought harder and won more concessions. (Post file photo )When federal energy legislation was being crafted last spring, the natural-gas industry "was not at the bargaining table" and as a result was left out, said former Colorado U.S. Sen. Tim Wirth.

Wirth's comments Wednesday in a speech at the Colorado Oil and Gas Association's annual conference echoed those of some top industry executives.

"We as an industry really didn't show up for this game," Keith Rattie, chief executive of Salt Lake City-based natural-gas producer Questar Corp., said Tuesday.

And while natural gas "was not in the room," Wirth said, other industries fought for a piece of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Rep. Edward Markey, D Mass.

The bill passed the House 219-212 on June 26 and is to be considered in the Senate this fall.

"The coal industry, fighting hard for its future, came away with the most impressive array of permits and give-backs," said Wirth, president of the nonprofit United Nations Foundation.

The utility industry largely dictated the terms of the cap-and-trade system of carbon-emission permits, Wirth said.

The solar and wind industries, the agricultural industry and the auto industry all got something in the bill, Wirth said.

"Every industry was deeply engaged â€" except one," Wirth said. "The natural-gas industry."

That industry has 60 days to regroup and try to insert elements that will help develop markets for natural gas, Wirth said.

"The industry has to decide on its two or three biggest legislative priorities: Fuel switching? Transportation? Alliance with renewables?" he said.

Ensuring that natural gas is a main fuel for electricity generation is a prime goal, Questar's Rattie said.

The lobbying failure may be the result of the industry's more dispersed nature and a general antipathy toward government involvement, Wirth said.

A key for the industry will be to find eight to 10 senators from natural-gas states who will support the bill only if accommodations are made to the industry, Wirth said.

Rattie said Questar and 20 other large natural-gas-production companies have formed the American Natural Gas Alliance to promote the fuel.

Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com

Join me in emailing Congress today to let them know you support taking immediate steps to reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

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Comment by James Everitt on July 10, 2009 at 5:07am

How to Convert a Vehicle to Natural Gas

INTRODUCTION

Overall Things You'll Need

Certificate of Conformity

Conversion Kit

Convert a vehicle to natural gas to save on gas costs and do you part to help the environment. Natural gas burns cleaner, which means less harmful emissions. Most natural gas vehicles use compressed natural gas (CNG), which can be refueled at home or at special filling stations, but cars can also be converted to use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or propane.

INSTRUCTIONS

Steps

1. Step One Analyze your car to decide whether it really is worth converting to alternative fuel. You can expect the cost of converting a single gasoline car to natural gas to be high. Because you're shelling out so much money, you want the car to last a decent length of time. You may actually save money by purchasing a new car that already runs on natural gas.

2. Step Two Consult a gas conversion specialist to convert your existing vehicle to natural gas. He should be able to tell you whether your car can be converted properly and will perform the work. You will also be given a cost estimate at that point.

3. Step Three Determine whether your car can handle the added weight of the CNG canisters. The entire conversion can add 200 to 500 lbs., depending on the size and number of tanks.

4. Step Four Follow all EPA standards when converting your car. Make sure your model of vehicle has been approved for conversion with a certificate of conformity.

5. Step Five Install a dual fuel system if you want to convert your car without any major modifications. This allows the car to run on diesel if needed with just a flip of the switch on the dashboard.

6. Step Six Consider where and how you will refuel your car. You should invest in a home refueling device for convenience, which may require special permits to install. Otherwise, find a nearby station that caters to the public.

7. Step Seven Buy a conversion kit. The kit includes everything you need to turn a diesel engine into a natural gas vehicle. CNG and LPG kits are not readily available in every area, so you may need to work with a mechanic.

8. Step Eight Keep your eye on the future. Natural gas vehicles and stations are paving the way for hydrogen technology. You may want to convert your car so that it runs on both CNG and hydrogen or a combination of the two.

Overall Tips & Warnings

Natural gas can also be used to produce hydrogen, which is facilitating the transfer to alternative fuel cell vehicles.

Overall Things You'll Need

Certificate of Conformity

Conversion Kit

Comment by James Everitt on July 12, 2009 at 7:46am

Promote Natural Gas

We need to get to work with our elected officials and promote natural gas as the alternative fuel in this country; it’s plentiful, cheap, produces far fewer emissions than gasoline, is produced domestically and can be a real, affordable alternative to imported oil as a motor fuel. It could become a major source of motor fuel in a decade. Wind, solar and electric can’t come close to that timetable. You can buy compressed natural gas in Dallas today for $1.90 per gallon of gasoline equivalent, the standard that it’s sold by. One GGE produces the same BTUs as a gallon of gasoline. In Utah and Oklahoma, it’s under $1. Any gasoline-powered vehicle can be converted to run on natural gas for less than $800. Operators of large vehicle fleets that have single-point fueling like school boards, utility companies, Fed Ex and UPS should be doing this already. Ask our politicians why they haven’t explored this idea. Put them on the spot.

Argentina has some 1.69 million natural-gas vehicles and 1,767 refueling stations across the nation. That is 15 percent of all vehicles. By July 2008, there were 1.56 million retrofitted vehicles in Brazil, or about 5 percent of the total light-vehicle fleet, with 1,585 refueling stations. Most of the fleet is comprised of taxis operating in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. These cities need to do something about the air quality and NGV’s are a good start.

We’re subsidizing corn-ethanol production when, in reality, it’s almost a BTU-neutral process. Many economists agree that it takes as many BTUs to plant it, manufacture and apply the fertilizer, harvest it, transport it, process it and truck it to the service station as it provides as fuel.

We already have the pipeline infrastructure in place for gas distribution. Maybe I’m missing something, but I do know locally we’re looking at a chicken-or-egg conundrum. As a consumer, why convert your vehicle until there’s a reliable network of fueling stations? From the producers’ point of view, why invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a fuel station when there are no vehicles to buy it? Common sense says we need the fueling stations before this idea will really take hold. I don’t have the answer to that question, but there are a lot of smart people out there. If we put our heads together, we will find a way to do it.

Learn more at Promote Natural Gas

The U.S. has vast reserves of natural gas. This is a win-win for the oil patch, the nation and the economy. Keep some of those dollars spent on fuel working here at home rather than sending them to the Middle East, Russia, Africa or Hugo Chavez.

Comment by James Everitt on July 12, 2009 at 11:21am

Join the Clean Energy Mailing List

The Natural Gas Top 10 Video Link

Why It’s Today’s Best Alternative Vehicular Fuel Top Ten Reasons!

(1) It’s Domestic: With fuel produced in North America, increasing use of Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) reduces our foreign oil consumption, and enhances our nation’s energy security.

(2) It’s Clean: Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) are two of the cleanest burning alternative fuels available. Natural gas vehicles emit up to 95% less pollution than gasoline or diesel vehicles.

(3) It’s Cheaper Than Gas or Diesel: Natural gas is less expensive than petroleum, which means reduced fuel costs for NGV operators.

(4) It’s Cheaper Than Hydrogen: The projected cost of hydrogen currently is in excess of $8.00 per gallon.

(5) It’s Safe: Lighter-than-air compressed natural gas is nontoxic and disperses quickly. It has a higher ignition temperature than gasoline and diesel fuel, which reduces the chances of accidental ignition.

(6) It’s Here — Now: Natural gas-fueled vehicles are being deployed widely today. For example, 22% of all new transit buses on order nationwide now are natural gas-powered.

(7) It’s Increasingly Available: With more than 120 public fueling sites and an additional 130 private fleet fueling sites and counting, California leads the nation in ready access to vehicular natural gas.

(8) It’s The Most Practical: Natural gas is the most efficient feedstock for the production of hydrogen.

(9) It’s Possible To Produce Hydrogen-Natural Gas-blended Fuel: A hydrogen/natural gas blend makes good economic and environmental sense.

(10) It’s Part Of An Infrastructure That’s Convertible To Hydrogen: Natural gas stations can easily be converted to hydrogen delivery due to their common properties.

Download a pdf

Join the Clean Energy Mailing List

The Natural Gas Top 10 Video Link

Comment by James Everitt on July 12, 2009 at 3:26pm

Dear Friend:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the American Clean Energy and Security Act. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

In our effort to reduce emissions, I believe we must invest in alternative sources of energy. Wind, solar, nuclear, and biomass are clean, safe and effective sources of power. Their increased use would create thousands of jobs and allow us to produce energy for Americans, by Americans.

Some Members of Congress have expressed their intent to mandate a cap-and-trade policy to be imposed on all Americans. I believe that cap-and-trade would increase energy prices. In 2008, Peter Orszag, who then served as the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, and who now serves as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, testified before the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Finance on the implications of a cap-and-trade regime. In his testimony, Director Orszag stated, “Under a cap-and-trade program, firms would not ultimately bear most of the costs of the allowances but instead would pass them along to their customers in the form of higher prices.”

For this reason, I believe that a cap-and-trade approach to address climate change would be onerous and would adversely impact the economy. It could create economic hardship for farmers, ranchers, workers and small businesses, in addition to consumers. The last thing our nation needs during this time of economic hardship is higher energy prices and higher levels of unemployment due to a federal mandate passed down from Washington.

As cap-and-trade legislation comes before the Senate, I will keep your comments in mind. I appreciate hearing from you, and I hope you will not hesitate to keep in touch on any issue that is important to you.

Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator

284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5922 (tel)
202-224-0776 (fax)
Kay Bailey Hutchison Website

Comment by James Everitt on August 27, 2009 at 9:30am

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