Waste Management of Seattle has begun construction on a new compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station and unveiled a fleet of CNG-fueled solid waste collection trucks. The Seattle project is part of a larger national effort to cut the company’s CO2 emissions by 15% by 2020.
Waste Management is investing $29 million in 106 new vehicles and an additional $7.5 million to build a compressed natural gas fueling station in Seattle. When complete, the station will open to the public and within five years all 180 collection trucks in the Seattle fleet will be fueled by CNG.
Nationally, Waste Management already has 265 CNG and has 418 LNG (liquified natural gas) vehicles; and by the end of 2009, the company expects to have 500 LNG vehicles and 299 CNG vehicles in service.
As part of a broader national effort to convert trucks to CNG, the plan would seem to dovetail nicely with what has been proposed by T. Boone Pickens. In addition to advocating for more wind energy to power our light cars and trucks, Pickens supports converting the nation’s truck-fueling infrastructure to natural gas.
“The replacement of diesel to CNG trucks greatly reduces exposure to fine particulate emissions from diesel engines in both residential and commercial area trucks,” said Jennifer Andrews, Waste Management’s communications director in the West, in an email.
An independent review conducted by an environmental consulting firm, determined Waste Management’s equipment upgrade in Seattle will reduce smog-causing NOx by 97 percent, toxic diesel particulate matter by 94% and greenhouse gas by 20%.
And considering natural gas prices are less than half of what gasoline prices are in some parts of the country, the conversion to the cleaner-burning domestic fuel also makes good business sense.
As a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange, the country’s first voluntary carbon market, Waste Management has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by six percent from its 1998-2001 baseline emissions by 2010. As part of that commitment, the company has begun an extensive greenhouse gas accounting program and will begin reporting that data after the end of this calendar year.
Not to blow too much smoke here, but any move towards practices that lessen the environmental impact of a company that serves 25 million residential customers and handles 128 million tons of waste annually, is a step forward in the confines of an unavoidably dirty industry.
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About Timothy B. Hurst
The President just left Elkhart Indiana the area with the highest unemployment in the nation and the home of the Recreational vehicle. A few months ago we were focusing on the SUV’s and American made cars because of the low mileage and large size. We keep talking about the lack of jobs in the nation and stimulating the economy. The one thing that is common to all of the problems that we have in this country is energy cost. We have the answer that will solve all of our ills, we just don’t have the will to develop it.
The US has discovered a way to inexpensively get natural gas from formations in this country, so much that we are not importing CNG and we are thinking about exporting CNG. The price of CNG-natural gas was as high as $14 per mmbtu 2 years ago, the forcast for 2009 is about $4 per mmbtu. The conversion from mmbtu’s of natural gas to equivalent gallons of gasoline is as follows; 1 mmbtu divided by 7.7 or about 52 cent per equivalent gallon. Gasoline is selling at approximately 4 times that $2 per gallon.
We want to create jobs right, lets start building the infrastructure for natural gas dispensing. There are gas stations on every block in most major cities, every one of these stations will have to be modified. This will employee engineers, technicians, pipe fitters, welders and craftsmen of all types. We have no conversion shops for existing vehicles, more jobs for skilled and unskilled workers. We will need to manufacturer the equipment to dispense natural gas, and safety equipment that is unique to the natural gas industry, more jobs for US manufacturers. We must stop talking about this an do it, this is the revolution that can bring us out of the depression that we are in and we can stop importing oil from all over the world and use the resource the we have in abundance. This is an investment that will pay for itself over time, so we the people will get our stimulus money back.
Please help me to get this word out, this is common information that can easily be verified for accuracy.
American trucks and cars that are sold in countries such as Mexico and Brazil can be purchased to run on both gasoline and natural gas, why aren’t they sold here. The primary reason is that we don’t have the dispensing infrastructure. I would love to discuss this further, but more than that I would love to see some action with this stimulus money. I have other energy related ideas that will over time bring a return on the government’s investment and create jobs immediately for many people.
Walter Anderson
wwaa@mindspring.com
706 564 9602
The President just left Elkhart Indiana the area with the highest unemployment in the nation and the home of the Recreational vehicle. A few months ago we were focusing on the SUV’s and American made cars because of the low mileage and large size. We keep talking about the lack of jobs in the nation and stimulating the economy. The one thing that is common to all of the problems that we have in this country is energy cost. We have the answer that will solve all of our ills, we just don’t have the will to develop it.
The US has discovered a way to inexpensively get natural gas from formations in this country, so much that we are not importing CNG and we are thinking about exporting CNG. The price of CNG-natural gas was as high as $14 per mmbtu 2 years ago, the forcast for 2009 is about $4 per mmbtu. The conversion from mmbtu’s of natural gas to equivalent gallons of gasoline is as follows; 1 mmbtu divided by 7.7 or about 52 cent per equivalent gallon. Gasoline is selling at approximately 4 times that $2 per gallon.
We want to create jobs right, lets start building the infrastructure for natural gas dispensing. There are gas stations on every block in most major cities, every one of these stations will have to be modified. This will employee engineers, technicians, pipe fitters, welders and craftsmen of all types. We have no conversion shops for existing vehicles, more jobs for skilled and unskilled workers. We will need to manufacturer the equipment to dispense natural gas, and safety equipment that is unique to the natural gas industry, more jobs for US manufacturers. We must stop talking about this an do it, this is the revolution that can bring us out of the depression that we are in and we can stop importing oil from all over the world and use the resource the we have in abundance. This is an investment that will pay for itself over time, so we the people will get our stimulus money back.
Please help me to get this word out, this is common information that can easily be verified for accuracy.
American trucks and cars that are sold in countries such as Mexico and Brazil can be purchased to run on both gasoline and natural gas, why aren’t they sold here. The primary reason is that we don’t have the dispensing infrastructure. I would love to discuss this further, but more than that I would love to see some action with this stimulus money. I have other energy related ideas that will over time bring a return on the government’s investment and create jobs immediately for many people.
Walter Anderson
wwaa@mindspring.com
706 564 9602
Protect our environment? If you want to protect the environment go to the local beach/river/stream/highway and pick up some trash. Don’t fall for the CO2 lies!
Protect our environment? If you want to protect the environment go to the local beach/river/stream/highway and pick up some trash. Don’t fall for the CO2 lies!
kc- don’t fall for the GOP propaganda!
kc- don’t fall for the GOP propaganda!