By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Oct. 16 -- The newly formed California Natural Gas Vehicle Partnership has outlined 10-year targets for increasing the number of natural gas-powered vehicles (NGVs) in use from 19,000 to 619,000.
The partnership is an alliance between California air quality, transportation, and energy officials and private-sector representatives.
"The status quo is unacceptable to those of us cleaning up the air," said Norma J. Glover, chairman of the partnership and of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the public authority with responsibility for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties.
"With anticipated increases in population and vehicles on the road, not to mention energy security issues, California must deploy more low-emission vehicles powered by natural gas. . .. That's what these goals are about—taking practical steps now to assure clean air and a high quality of life for Californians."
Goals
Glover announced these partnership targets for California for the next 10 years:
-- Light-duty vehicle deployment (passenger cars, pickup trucks, and small service vehicles and vans): 33,000 new NGVs in use within 3 years, 90,000 new NGVs in use within 5 years, 500,000 new NGVs in use within 10 years (10-year cumulative total is 516,000 light-duty NGVs including the 16,000 vehicles now on the road).
-- Heavy-duty vehicle deployment (large vans, transit shuttles and buses, refuse haulers, school buses, large service trucks): 10,000 new NGVs in use within 3 years, 25,000 new NGVs in use within 5 years, 100,000 new NGVs in use within 10 years (10-year cumulative total is 103,000 heavy-duty NGVs including the 3,000 vehicles now on the road).
"If we meet these new targets, about 3% of the total number of vehicles on the road in California in 2012 will be powered by natural gas. That's an aggressive but attainable goal," Glover said.
The 19,000 NGVs on the road in California currently account for considerably less than 1% of the total 20 million vehicles currently in use.
A member of the Newport Beach, Calif., city council, Glover announced these goals at an Oct. 8Washington, DC, news briefing during the World Natural Gas Vehicle 2002 conference.
Dennis A. Smith, alternative fuels technology manager with the US Department of Energy, said California continues to lead the way in reducing vehicle emissions and promoting clean air.
"California's plan is likely to be a model for other states and regional jurisdictions," Smith said.
Emissions reductions
California's new NGV deployment goals will yield significant statewide emissions benefits and reduce the need for additional petroleum.
More specifically, when these goals are fully implemented in 10 years, statewide emissions will be reduced by nearly 6,000 tons of nitrogen oxide/year relative to what they would be if gasoline or diesel powered vehicles were deployed instead.
For every one diesel-powered heavy-duty vehicle removed from the road and replaced by an NGV, the emissions reduction is equivalent to removing 325 gasoline-powered cars from the road.
Also, these goals, when fully implemented, will eliminate the need for 795 million gal/year of gasoline and 817 million gal/year of diesel fuel.
