Welcome to WasteCon-APWA 2010 AUGUST 15, 2010
Natural Gas? Hybrid Drive? Both cost money up front, and ultimately save it. But in different ways. Organizations including Calstart and National Grid are bankrolling an inservice New York City face-off of nearly half a dozen clean truck types including natural gas (methane) and a variety of hybrids. —Page 7
Italian Shootout Italy-based world leaders in gaseous fuel systems have topped a series of acquisitions in recent years with nearly $30 million worth of new buys in the past weeks alone. A key prize? General Motors customers as GM re-enters the natural gas (and propane) vehicles business. “If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em,” says one man close to it all. —Page 6
Hybrid Progress
The natural gas vehicles industr y is here: with his ISL G engine powering East Rockaway’s new Clean Cities-suppor ted Crane Carrier truck is Cummins Westpor t VP Gord Exel. To his left are some of the new and emerging Big Guns in NGVs: Chr ysler’s Mar y Jaye, GNA’s Erik Neandross, Bill Zobel of Trillium USA, Tim Boyle of ANGI, National Grid’s Ron Gulmi, Impco’s Tim Standke, Matt Weiss of Landi Renzo, consultant Alex Lawson, Bill Hoffman of Arkansas Oklahoma Gas, NGV Global executive director Brett Jarman, Tom Sewell of Tulsa Gas Technologies, NGVAmerica president Rich Kolodziej, Castlen Kennedy of ‘Austin-to-Boston,’ BRC FuelMaker’s Mario Pirraglia, Dave Myers of Luxfer Gas Cylinders, Fleets & Fuels editor Rich Piellisch, Leo Thomason of AFVi, Lyle Jensen of GreenMan Technologies, John Mitton of Natural Drive, GreenMan’s Bob Natkin, Bradley Trembath of NatGasCar, Gerry Esper of Chrysler, Bill Calvert of BAF Technologies, Ron Eickelman of Fab-AFV Fleet Service, Elizabeth Munger of Honda, Freightliner’s Bob Carrick, Yukari Tanimoto of Lincoln Composites, Long Island Freightliner dealer Peter Nettesheim, Clean Energy’s Greg Roche, John Coursen of Wor thington-SCI (his Type III fuel cylinders are on the truck), and John Gilbrook of National Grid.
Methane Makes Its Case, Hybrids Here Too A more potent natural gas vehicles industry is offering clean methane fuel — in some cases biomethane — for refuse and public works vehicles. NGVAmerica held its annual meeting last week, right here. Nearly 30 natural gas exploration and
New York City Sanitation is testing a new hybrid from Hino. SAE releases a broad new testing standard. —Page 12
—Refuse Awards Roundup on Page 8
Published Online at www.showtimesdaily.com
production companies joined the association this year. With the emergence of shale gas, the E&Ps are seeking new markets for methane. The U.S. NGV industry has new investors from overseas, jockeying for work in light duty
vehicles, while Freightliner, Mack, Navistar and Paccar all have natural gas offerings for heavy duty customers. They’ve all got hybrid trucks too, and hybrids are well represented at WasteCon and APWA as well. Much More Inside, NGVAmerica on Page 11
‘It Works Very Very Well’
Half a dozen WasteCon exhibitors had a hand in this Crane Carrier truck, operated by Seattle’s Cleanscapes and fueled by Clean Energy. Crane is at WasteCon 2705, Cleanscapes is at 3522, and Clean Energy is at 3155. Crane’s got a truck in the NGV Zone, too — in the heart of the WasteCon show, where 41 natural gas vehicle suppliers may be found.
“The technology works and it works very very well,” Clean Energy Fuels VP Ray Burke says of natural gas — methane — fueled refuse trucks. “The reason this is growing the way it is, is that people have tested it and they know that it works.” Burke, a longtime veteran of Waste Management, says that some 10% of replacement refuse vehicles are now natural gas-fueled. “That percentage,” he says, “will continue to grow rapidly.” —Clean Energy on Page 14