News > December

Iran Seeks to Reduce its Reliance on Imported Gasoline
Iran is moving to address its reliance on imported gasoline. According to the U.S Energy Information Administration, imports are believed to account for 40% of Iran’s gasoline consumption and its gasoline demand is believed to be growing by over 11% a year.
The country will adopt a strategy of curbing gasoline use by rationing, price controls and using Iran’s plentiful natural gas supply to power cars—both by converting existing cars and building new natural gas-powered vehicles.
Source: Tehran moving to lessen dependence on imported gasoline, Greenwire

British Government to Spend £1 Billion to Go Green
The British Government is planning to spend £1 billion replacing 78,000 ministerial and civil service vehicles under a program to cut costs and reduce carbon emissions from its fleet by 15% by 2010-2011. The Government has recruited 15 manufacturers from Europe, Asia and North America to supply cheaper, greener cars over the next four years. The program, which is limited to light commercial cars and vans, is expected to save departments £100 million. The initiative comes as Britain faces pressure to fall into line with EU moves to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Source: Government spends £1bn to go green, The Times

Business Executives Urge Action to Cut Dependence on Foreign Oil
More than a dozen prominent business executives and retired military officers are lobbying Congress and the White House to undertake a comprehensive campaign to reduce reliance on imported oil. The group, which includes top executives from the chemical, trucking and airline industries, wants much tougher fuel economy standards, not only on cars and sport utility vehicles, but also on heavy trucks. They also propose a much harder push for ethanol and other biofuels. The group, called the Energy Security Leadership Council, hopes that evidence of broad support from business and military leaders will add the weight needed to get its proposals adopted.
Source: Executives Urge Action to Cut Dependence on Foreign Oil, New York Times

Seattle Airport Cab Fleet Now 100% CNG Powered
The Port of Seattle and the Seattle-Tacoma International Taxicab Association (STITA) announced that it met the Port's goal of having all association cabs fueled by compressed natural gas by Aug. 31, 2006. All 166 of STITA's sedan-type cabs now run on CNG. The CNG-powered fleet is expected to produce 149 fewer tons of carbon monoxide and 24 fewer tons of nitrous oxides each year than comparable gasoline-powered vehicles. The milestone means the extension of STITA's exclusive contract to provide taxi service at Sea-Tac Airport until 2010.
Source: Airport Cab Fleet 100% CNG Powered, Port of Seattle

Prince Charles Aims for Smaller Carbon Footprint
Putting his money where his environmentalist mouth is, Prince Charles is swapping gas-guzzling private planes and helicopters for commercial flights, train journeys and biodiesel cars.  In addition to making less use of helicopters and chartered planes, the prince plans to have his Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles converted to run on 100 percent biodiesel. A longtime champion of green causes, the heir to the throne says action is needed now to avoid leaving a ruined planet to the next generation. “We are consuming the resources of our planet at such a rate that we are, in effect, living off credit and living on borrowed time," the prince said at the launch of his Accounting for Sustainability program.
Source: Prince Charles aims for smaller "carbon footprint", The Seattle Times

Los Angeles International Airport to Use Natural Gas-Burning Transit Buses
Commissioners at Los Angeles International Airport have approved the purchase of 30 alternative-fuel buses and trucks as part of an ongoing commitment to replace existing gasoline-powered vehicles in the airport's fleet with alternative-fuel vehicles once the older vehicles reach the end of their useful service life. The purchase will include 21 compressed natural-gas (CNG) transit buses costing nearly $7.9 million. Officials at Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) believe that alternative-fuel vehicles are important elements in meeting California's future energy needs. LAWA currently has more than 500 alternative-fuel vehicles in its fleet and plans are underway to convert all of LAWA's fleet to alternative-fuel use.
Source: Los Angeles International Airport to Purchase 30 Alternative-Fuel Buses and Trucks, Market Wire

BP to Finance $500 Million Biofuels Research Center
Oil giant BP plans to spend $500 million over the next 10 years to establish the BP Energy Biosciences Institute, which it described as the "first facility of its kind in the world." The facility will be a dedicated biosciences energy research laboratory attached to a major academic center in the United States or the United Kingdom. Several leading academic institutions are vying to become the home of the $500 million research center. Among the applicants are the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at San Diego, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Cambridge University. BP CEO John Browne said, "Bioscience is already transforming modern medicine and we believe it can bring immense benefits to the energy sector." BP aims to launch early research programs by the end of 2007.
Source: Group chases $500M biofuel project, Mlive.com

Armenia Becoming Leader in Cleaner Car Fuel Use
Cut off from world energy markets, Armenia is making a virtue of adversity and may be leading the world in using cleaner car fuel. While the European Union is looking at 2020 before 10 percent of vehicles there will use alternative fuel, in Armenia up to 30 percent of cars already run on clean compressed gas, officials say. Such high levels of clean fuel use are due "to the fact that Armenia, which has no energy resources of its own, is trying to use the most affordable alternative fuel," said Pavel Siradeghian, a transport ministry official. The natural gas, which Armenia buys from Russia, is three or four times cheaper than petrol and half the price of diesel fuel, "and so people convert to gas of their own accord," Siradeghian said.
Source: Armenia leads the way in using cleaner car fuel, Trend

Biofuel Demand Increasing China's Ethanol Production
Due to increased international oil prices and the promotion of biofuel as a clean, effective and renewable energy source, demand for ethanol is expected to grow rapidly, according to analysts. Partly as a result of this robust demand for ethanol production, China may become a net corn importer in a few years. China is now the third-largest ethanol fuel producer after Brazil and the United States and has promised to increase the use of ethanol fuel from 20% of fuel consumption to more than half by 2010 with ethanol consumption reaching 3.25 million tons per year.
Source: Biofuel increasing China's corn imports, Interfax China

Indian Supreme Court Seeks Expansion of CNG Public Transport Systems
The Indian Supreme Court has issued notices to the Union Petroleum Ministry, the Gas Authority of India Ltd. (GAIL) and six states seeking the introduction of compressed natural gas public transport systems to the eight most polluted cities in the country. The notices come as the result of an application filed to the Supreme Court by the Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA). For each city, EPCA has set specific deadlines for the introduction of CNG-run vehicles and other measures to be adopted for abating pollution levels.
Source: SC notice to petroleum ministry and GAIL, Hindustan Times

China Faces Challenge of Growth in Energy Demand
As China's economy continues to grow, so does the country's energy consumption, and with it the scale of the challenge that the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) faces. Transportation has become the second area of priority facing Beijing's energy conservationists, due to the growth of road freight and the more widespread use of private vehicles. The World Bank has forecast that there will be 170 million vehicles on the roads in China by 2020, by which point the country would have overtaken the U.S. in total car ownership. Last year, the Chinese bought 7 million new cars, making the country the world's second-largest car market after the U.S. In turn, China is now the second-largest emitter of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions—carbon emissions have more than doubled in the past 25 years. In a move to curtail pollution and reduce the country's growing oil imports, the government has imposed taxes on high-gas-consumption autos while adopting European auto emissions standards. In a further effort to control pollution, Beijing is weaning its public transportation off gasoline. The Chinese capital now boasts the largest fleet of natural gas-powered buses in the world.
Source: Pollution And Prosperity, Forbes

Sales of Natural Gas Vehicles on the Rise in Germany
Germany is experiencing a steady rise in natural gas vehicle registrations. From January to October 2006, Germans registered 9,231 compressed natural gas (CNG) passenger cars, representing a 47% increase year-on-year. There are now more than 50,000 natural gas vehicles on the road in Germany. German drivers of natural gas vehicles receive a price break at the pump, with CNG costing less than both gasoline and diesel. Natural gas vehicles reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 23% compared to their gasoline-powered counterparts.
Source: German Natural Gas Vehicle Registrations on the Rise; All Alternative Drives Pass 1% Mark in October, Green Car Congress

78% of Americans Want to See 40 MPG Fuel-Efficiency Standard Imposed
Fully 78% of Americans want Washington to impose a 40-mile per gallon (mpg) fuel-efficiency standard for American vehicles, according to a new national opinion survey released by the nonprofit Civil Society Institute. According to the survey, 70% of Americans say they are factoring “expected future gasoline price increases into consideration in thinking about buying a new vehicle.” Forty-five percent say they are now more likely to buy a “hybrid or other fuel-efficient vehicle” than they were six months ago. Other results of the survey include the following: 85% support White House pressure on automakers for reducing “energy consumption and related global-warming pollution”; 90% want automakers to start selling more fuel-efficient vehicles that they make or sell overseas but do not offer in the US; and 74% support federal gasoline taxes devoted to renewable energy R&D.
Source: Survey: 3 Out of 4 Americans Want Detroit and Washington to Impose 40 MPG Fuel-Efficiency Standard, Green Car Congress

Swedish Appetite for Alternative Fuels Continues
Sweden’s appetite for alternative fuels shows no sign of abating, with demand for vehicles fuelled by both biomethane and E85 ethanol blends increasing at a rate which has created temporary fuel shortages. One of the four major regional Swedish distributors of compressed methane gas has announced that total sales for October 2006 saw an increase of 25% compared with October 2005. The bulk of the increase comes from increased use of light duty vehicles supplied via public re-fuelling stations. Sales at these public stations increased by 44% compared with October last year. Meanwhile, the City of Stockholm is reporting the success of policy initiatives in the city, including the introduction of a special priority lane for taxicabs meeting the 'environmental vehicle' classification at Stockholm Arlanda airport. “These cars already account for 25% of all traffic at the airport (drivers save about one hour driving into the priority lane which, of course, means higher earnings)," says ENGVA Chairman and former Volvo Cars executive, Peter Boisen. Stockholm is now planning to introduce similar priority lanes at the ferry terminals. The city is also to introduce congestion charges on a permanent basis following a successful trial earlier this year.
Source: Swedish Appetite for Alternative Fuels Continues, NGV Global