In search of the perfect fuel
Share with others:
For years, the U.S. Department of Energy has spent billions of dollars trying to find the "perfect fuel." The goal? A fuel that costs almost nothing to produce or ship, is environmentally neutral in all phases of its life cycle, has no harmful waste to dispose of, utilizes off-the-shelf technology for both industrial and transportation use and can employ millions of people.
The focus is 30 years from now. It's a plan, but it doesn't excite me much.
We need a plan that can make a difference in 30 months, not 30 years.
And the answer is right under our feet, right here in Western Pennsylvania. It's natural gas.
For four decades every president back to Richard Nixon has pledged to make the U.S. energy independent, or at least to solve the threat of OPEC oil dependency. It's not that complicated. Focus on transportation, put a spotlight on heavy-duty trucks and fleet vehicles, and replace the OPEC oil/diesel/gasoline they use with cleaner, lower cost, domestic natural gas.
Natural gas becomes the bridge fuel that buys us time until the "perfect fuel" becomes a realistic possibility.
Is natural gas the "perfect fuel?" No, but it comes closer to anything else we have now, especially in the heavy-duty/fleet sector.
• It is plentiful -- we have the largest reserves in the world.
• It is relatively easy to transport -- natural gas lines run under virtually every street in nearly every town and city in the nation.
• It is cleaner than oil or coal -- the chemical makeup of natural gas is one carbon atom for every four hydrogen atoms.
• It is cheap -- natural gas is about $1 per gallon equivalent cheaper than diesel.
• It is ours -- we do not have to depend on imported natural gas from Venezuela or Nigeria, Saudi Arabia or Libya.
Washington is debating legislation that would incentivize this transition. House Resolution 1380 has more than 180 cosponsors (12 of whom are from Pennsylvania), with broad bipartisan support. Similar legislation will be introduced in the Senate soon.
While Washington debates and studies, the states are acting. Just last week, Pennsylvania demonstrated clear leadership in this regard, signing a memorandum of understanding with three other states -- Oklahoma, Wyoming and Colorado -- that commits them to move their state fleet operations to natural gas. The goal is to encourage Detroit's automakers to step up production of natural-gas vehicles.
First Published November 15, 2011 12:00 am
