Here is a quiz for sustainability executives. How can you save money while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by over 20%? The answer: run your transportation fleet on CNG or LNG fuel. Companies with private fleets and contracted fleets can enjoy the savings of CNG and LNG while doing their part for sustainability and environmental stewardship.... Read More

I am often asked, “How long does it take to fuel a natural gas truck?” The answer can be surprisingly short. The fueling time depends on whether the truck uses CNG (compressed natural gas) or LNG (liquid natural gas), as well as the station design.... Read More

News from Washington these days is focused on energy policy. Cap-and-trade, oil drilling in the Gulf, and energy security are all headline stories. All f these stories center on the key question: what policies should our federal government follow in order to achieve energy security and sustainable environmental stewardship?... Read More

About 5 million barrels of oil per day, one third of the petroleum consumed in the US, is imported from OPEC countries. OPEC countries include Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and other unfriendly regimes. Petroleum is predominantly used as diesel and gasoline for transportation. Achieving energy security means we must reduce our consumption of diesel and gasoline. ... Read More

This is a busy spring season for natural gas vehicles. The industry is full of announcements. Truck manufacturers Freightliner, Kenworth, Peterbilt, Autocar, Capacity, and Kalmar are expanding their line-up of natural gas vehicle offerings. Even Navistar announced their commitment to introduce a natural gas engine. It wasn't that long ago that you couldn't buy a natural gas truck from your dealer, but just look at these recent headlines:... Read More

A blog on the PMSA website titled "Testing, The Right Thing to Do" by TL Garrett misses the point in attacking natural gas trucks serving port drayage. Actually, the blog misses several points. Let's review the case for natural gas as a transportation fuel in the US.... Read More

The truck world is all abuzz about EPA’s 2010 standards for diesel emissions. Press announcements and media stories are in the news it seems daily. Volvo and Mack announced that they received the first 2010 EPA certification. International continues their legal wrangling with EPA over allowing the use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to comply with 2010 standards. I attended the OPIS Fleet Fueling Conference earlier this fall and the conference subtitle could have been “All About DEF”. The ATA Management Conference in Las Vegas also featured DEF. DEF, in case you don’t live and breathe the truck world, is diesel exhaust fluid. DEF is a chemical used in an SCR control device to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). In the eyes of a truck operator, DEF is another fuel system that must be maintained and replenished.... Read More

The NatGas Act is important legislation that is currently under consideration by both houses of Congress. The NatGas Act is known as S. 1408 in the Senate and HR 1835 in the House. Over 100 Members of Congress are co-sponsoring the bill. The NatGas Act provides incentives to encourage fleets to operate natural gas fueled vehicles. Some of these incentives already exist in current law and will be extended, other existing incentives will be improved and new incentives will be added. The bill encourages vehicle purchases, infrastructure, vehicle production, research and development, and vehicle conversions. You can read more about the NatGas Act here... Read More

I am returning from Atlanta where I attended the OPIS National Fleet Fueling Conference. Aside from flooding in the area, I enjoyed the conference and met many interesting people on the fuel side of the business. The focal point of the conference was diesel emissions fluid (DEF). DEF is a chemical that is consumed by selective catalytic reduction systems to control NOx in 2010 diesel engines. Vendors were looking forward to a new business line. I'm not sure fleet operators share this enthusiasm.... Read More