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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on May 24, 2012 at 10:01

I don't know about "Truckers", Jan but fleets of heavy trucks that leave from and return to the same staging facility daily are already moving in that direction.  To get long haul truckers on LNG will take a much greater investment in infrastructure. 

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Permalink Reply by Krkyoldhag on May 24, 2012 at 14:45

I asked a trucker who is buying new rig any day if he was considering a NG engine.  He over the road and said he couldn't do it right now.  Darn. 

If there were refueling stations close enough for him to be sure of availability he says would consider it but not now.

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Permalink Reply by Hopeful About Natural Gas on May 24, 2012 at 19:26

this I can believe in for the near term - the large fleets who come and go to the same facility.  Stores like Walmart could also be a big market for natgas trucks.

Skip, could a store like Walmart or Best Buy or any larger supermarket have enough reason to convert to LNG?

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on May 25, 2012 at 1:57

Best Buy is history, HANG.  WalMart has already experimented with energy saving construction and mechanical systems and incorporated much new technology into their new store designs.  As far as I know the WalMart distribution system relies on long haul rigs which do not return to the same location each night so they would need publicly available LNG fueling options.  Interstate fueling stations could be up and running in some parts of the country about the time that the first meaningful LNG exports are beginning. 

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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on May 28, 2012 at 3:48

Sesport, their most active LNG station is located in Long Beach, California.  It primarily supports the heavy duty trucks associated with the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach which are the largest freight ports on the West Coast.  The station has four refuelling bays. 

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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on May 26, 2012 at 2:40

Jan, the speed at which natural gas captures a share of the diesel fuel market in road vehicles is a complex question and very difficult to assess.  First recognize medium and heavy duty vehicles can utilize either compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG).

 

CNG is currently much easier to supply since all it requires is compression attached to the natural gas grid.  Because the energy density is much lower than diesel, it provides for a shorter cruising range.  Local fleets or individual trucks (trash trucks, school buses, transit buses, shuttles, etc) are good candidates since they do not venture far from their home base.  A typical fleet operation will "slow fill" the vehicles overnight.  I have visited a Republic site that could handle 100 trucks.  CNG engines are spark ignited so have slightly lower efficiencies than diesel engines.  Also, CNG engines are not available in sufficient horsepower size for heavy-heavy duty applications such as freight hauling.

 

LNG is harder to supply, distribute and store due to the cryogenic temperature (-259F).  The cruising range is much higher than CNG and comparable to diesel.  Also, LNG engines are available in a non-spark ignited, high pressure configuration that gives the same performance as diesel and in higher horsepower to support freight hauling.  Currently there are limited suppliers and refuelling stations but the construction of LNG export facilities may created more availability of supply for transportation fuel.

 

Currently there is one dominant CNG/LNG engine supplier for large trucks in the US so additional suppliers need to enter the market to create competition.

 

The increased use of natural gas in the medium/heavy duty transportation market will be a slow process but is currently picking up pace.  Natural gas is clearly more economic than diesel but availability of supply, engines and infrastructure are the limiting factors that must be overcome to maintain the growth in market share.  Public perception may be the biggest hurdle as truck owners must be convinced to move away from their diesel comfort zone.         

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Permalink Reply by Antiqued Rose on May 30, 2012 at 2:49

"Less than 0.1% of vehicles on American roads burn the fuel today and the percentage sagged slightly from 2005 to 2010, when federal policies encouraging their use waned. The number began edging up last year, lifted by market forces."

Market Forces. Smart Americans met the challenge of extractig NG and smart Americans will figure how to make the product user friendly.

So while Pakistan is using NG for transportation in miniscule local transportation (I hope our taxpayer defense dollars aren't diverted for this use), we will develop the means to make NG useful for American's long distance needs. The economies of developing this infrastructure first would be beneficial too.

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Permalink Reply by Max on May 30, 2012 at 4:42

Antiqued Rose,

The major transportation used in Pakistan is foot and/or beast powered.  Don't worry about them jumping ahead of the US in developing NG transportation.

NG will be limited in the market share of transportation.  Simple competition from gas/elect. will keep it from becoming a major player, unless the government steps in and uses tax dollars to cherry pick the industry.

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