ReFUEL

ReFUEL October 2011 | Wisconsin Clean Cities - Southeast Area | Monthly Newsletter

The Bottom Line on Biodiesel

Also In This Issue:

September Happenings Member Spotlight: International Motorwerks Question of the Month: Where to Find Reliable Information

“Driving Wisconsin Forward”

Co nnect Wi t h U s On T h e Web !

www.wicleancities.org

twitter.com/wccsea

www.facebook.com/wicleancities

www.flickr.com/wicleancities

Join Us!

6th Annual Stakeholder Meeting & Holiday Reception December 1, 2011 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM FREE Concordia University Concordia Center for Environmental Stewardship 12800 N. Lake Shore Dr. Mequon, WI Join us while we celebrate you! Review the year, eat great food, and find out who are the 2011 Clean Energy Champions.

Sponsorship opportunities are available.

Contact WCC-SEA for more information at 414-221-4958 or info@wicleancities.org.

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ReFUEL is Wisconsin Clean Cities Southeast Area’s (WCC-SEA) monthly coalition newsletter.

WCC-SEA is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), organization, and is one of nearly 100 Clean Cities coalitions across the U.S. WCC-SEA works to reduce emissions, encourage the use of alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles, and develop the refueling infrastructure necessary to sustain the industry.

If you would like to contribute to ReFUEL, please contact Lorrie Lisek at lorrie.lisek@wicleancities.org or call 414-221-4958.

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Con te n ts Page 6

September Happenings

Page 7

Member Spotlight

International Motorwerks

Page 8

Question of the Month

Top 10 resources for reliable and unbiased information

Page 10

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The Bottom Line on Biodiesel

A r e you a me m be r y et ?

Sta rt mak i ng an i mpact today, join WCC - S EA !

It’s all a bo ut i m p r o v i n g q u a l i ty of life fo r t he pe o ple living in Wisc ons in.

WCC-SE A r e l i e s o n s u p p o r t f r o m o ur members. Dues and co rpo rat e member s hi p s e n a b l e W C C - S E A to ho ld meet ings, spo nso r educat io nal wor k sh op s, a nd p r o v i d e v i ta l o u t reach mat e rials.

Wh at ca n W C C-S E A d o f o r y o u ?

• Net w or k i ng o p p o r tu n iti e s w i th fleet s & indust ry part ners wit h experienc e in alt e r na t i v e f u e l s & a d va n c e d ve hicle s • Techni ca l t r a in i n g , w o r ks h o p s , and we binars • In forma t i o n re s o u r c e s o n a l te rnat ive fuels, advance d ve hicle s, idle reduc t i o n, a n d o th e r te c h n o l o gie s t hat re duce pe t ro le um use • In divi d ua l c o n s u l ta tio n a n d technical assist ance • F undi ng o p p o r tu n iti e s f r o m the U. S . Depart me nt o f Energy, st ate and local gov e r nm e n t a g e n c ie s , n onpro fit s, and fo undat io ns • Pu bli c r e c o g n i ti o n f o r p r o g r e ss in re ducing pet ro le um co nsumption • Assis t a nce w i th m e d ia o u tr e a ch

J oi n toda y !

Visit ww w.w i cl e a n c iti e s . o r g /j o i n. php, email info @wicle ancit ies. org, or call 4 1 4 -2 2 1 - 4958.

2 0 11 D i am o n d a nd Go l d M e m b e r s:

Se p t e mb er Happenings At the Soy Biobased Products and Biodiesel Conference and Expo, Jim Evanoff, Environmental Specialist for Yellowstone National Park, spoke about the various ways Yellowstone is using biodiesel and a myriad of other green practices.

The event was held on September 7, 2011.

The City of Milwaukee groundbreaking event for public access compressed natural gas station.

From the left: Dave Lopina (Cumberland Servicenter), Jeffrey Tews (Fleet Operations Magaer), Venu Gupta (Director of Facilities), Mayor Tom Barrett, Ghassan Korban (Commissioner of Public Works), Laura Richard (WCC-SEA), David Jenkins (Wisconsin State Energy Office).

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M embe r Spotli gh t : Int e rnational Moto r werks

F

or 35 years, International Motorwerks has been in the vehicle business, and has been a strong advocate for advanced technology and alternative fuel vehicles. It began with the Honda CRX HF, the first vehicle to break the 50 miles per gallon (mpg) standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1985. Then in 1992, they advocated for the Honda Civic VX, the first vehicle to break the higher 60 mpg standard set by the EPA. International Motorwerks ultimately became one of the top selling Certified Honda Hybrid dealer in the U.S. after the launch of the Honda Insight Hybrid in December 1999.

In December 2006, International Motorwerks expanded their portfolio to include full electric and natural gas vehicles (NGVs). They began representing Columbia ParCar neighborhood electric vehicles and installed a home refueling appliance for the refueling of NGVs. In fact, in October 2009, they became American Honda Compressed Natural Gas Certified and installed a new “micro� commercial refueling system in July 2010.

According to Chris Schneider, owner of International Motorwerks, looking forward the company plans to work with local Wisconsin farmers to offer compressed biogas from cow manure. They will work with family sized dairy farmers in Western Wisconsin as well as other feedstock providers, such as brewing grains, cranberry waste, used baking oil, food scraps, and other farm biomass.

The feedstock will be used for an anaerobic digestion system to produce animal bedding from solids, liquid fertilizer, and biogas. The biogas will be cleaned to transportation fuel specifications and used as a blend with pipeline quality natural gas to refuel consumers in Western Wisconsin.

A lineup of some of the alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles Motorwerks offers.

In December 2006, Motorwerks installed a home refueling appliance, called the Phyllus 4, for the refueling of natural gas vehicles.

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Question of th e m on t h Q A

: What are the top 10 resources for reliable and unbiased information about alternative fuels, advanced vehicles, and other petroleum reduction strategies? :

#1 #2 #3

Alternative Fuels & Advanced Vehicles Data Center (AFDC):

http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/ The AFDC is a comprehensive clearinghouse of data, publications, tools, and information related to alternative fuels, advanced vehicles, idle reduction, fuel economy, and other petroleum reduction strategies. The AFDC Tools page (http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/ applications.html) is a one-stop-shop for links to tools, database searches, calculators, and interactive maps available through the AFDC, including the Alternative Fueling Station Locator, Vehicle Searches, Incentives and Laws Search, and Publications Search.

Clean Cities: http://www.cleancities.energy.gov/ The national Clean Cities website includes links to relevant news, events, and publications; program and coalition contacts; financial opportunities; and Coordinator Toolbox resources.

Fueleconomy.gov: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ Fueleconomy.gov allows users to search for fuel economy information for light-duty vehicle models through the Find and Compare Cars tool. In addition, the website includes a search tool for cars that don’t use gasoline, verified gas mileage tips, and the Your MPG fuel economy tracking tool.

#4

U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)’s Alternatives to Traditional Transportation Fuels: http://www.eia.gov/renewable/alternative_transport_vehicles/index.cfm EIA collects, analyzes, and disseminates information about energy production and use in the United States. On an annual basis EIA publishes their Alternatives to Traditional Transportation report, which summarizes data on the number of alternative fuel vehicles supplied and in use, and the amount of alternative fuel consumed. Please note that the data published is generally two-years delayed; 2010 data will be available in the spring of 2012.

EIA also publishes data on conventional fuel prices and production, as well as other topics of interest.

#5

DOE’s Energy Policy Act (EPAct) Information The following DOE websites provide information about EPAct regulatory activities: • EPAct Transportation Regulatory Activities:

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/epact/index.html

This website provides information on vehicle and fuel use requirements for state

government and alternative fuel provider fleets, as well as the EPAct definition of

an “alternative fuel.”

• Federal Fleet Management:

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/program/fedfleet_management.html

This website provides information about federal fleet requirements under EPAct and

other regulations.

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#6 #7

DOE National Laboratories The DOE national labs perform research, implement programs, and publish documents related to alternative fuels and advanced vehicles. A full list of labs and technology centers is available on the DOE website: http://energy.gov/offices. The labs involved with Clean Cities include Argonne National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, National Energy Technology Laboratory, and National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Clean Cities Coalitions Coalitions around the country are deploying alternative fuels and advanced vehicles, educating their stakeholders and the public, and engaging their communities. The coalition websites and coordinator contact information listed on DOE’s Clean Cities website (http://www.afdc. energy.gov/cleancities/coalitions/coalition_locations.php) are great resources for information and case studies.

#8

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): http://www.epa.gov/ EPA administers a number of different programs aimed at reducing vehicle emissions. For example, the EPA website features information on the following: • Alternative Fuel Conversion Regulations (including an Excel spreadsheet of

EPA-compliant conversion systems):

http://epa.gov/otaq/consumer/fuels/altfuels/altfuels.htm • Renewable Fuels Standard:

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/index.htm • Aftermarket Retrofit Device Evaluation “511” Program:

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/reports.htm

#9

Other Federal Government Agencies Several other federal government agencies implement programs and regulations related to alternative fuels and advanced vehicles. These agencies include the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; U.S. Department of Agriculture; and U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The AFDC Incentives & Laws database provides information and links for additional information about federal incentives, laws, regulations, and programs by agency at the following website: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/laws/fed_summary/Agency.

#10

State and Local Government Agencies State and local government agencies are great resources for information about regulations and programs in your area. The National Association of State Energy Officials maintains a list of state and territory energy office websites and contacts (http://www.naseo.org/members/states/). Likewise, the EPA posts a list of state and territorial environmental agency websites (http://www.epa.gov/epahome/state.htm). In addition, many state agency contacts are listed on the AFDC State Incentives and Laws website (http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/laws/state).

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Th e Bot to m L i n e on B i od i esel L

ast month, Wisconsin Clean Cities – SEA hosted a soy biodiesel event that educated attendees about the benefits of biodiesel. From hearing that a blend of B20 (20% natural oils and 80% diesel) has a Midwest average price of $3.90/gallon compared to the national average of $4.02/gallon to learning how a farm can set up its own biodiesel manufacturing operation, attendees were able to learn about all of the different benefits of biodiesel.

Currently there are four operating stations, as well as many small scale producers in Wisconsin.

Although biodiesel may be hard to find in the state, it is not in other places of the Midwest: Illinois boasts six stations in the Chicago area. Many of these stations sell biodiesel that is created from crops grown right here in the Midwest. Although biodiesel can be created from any plant with natural oils, the most popular sources are soy, used vegetable oil, and animal fats.

Did you know that if you took a sip of 100% biodiesel you wouldn’t have to rush to the emergency room as if you did the same with petroleum? That’s because biodiesel is non-toxic, as well as biodegradable. With the effects of oil spills threatening our seashores, one cannot deny how it is a huge advantage that a biodiesel (B100) spill would have no long lasting effect on the environment as is seen with oil.

Using biodiesel in your diesel engine has benefits that range from your vehicle to the environment to national security.

Because biodiesel is made from natural oils, it improves fuel lubricity and raises “The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant the cetane today, but such oils may become in the course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time.” number of the fuel. As low as a B1 blend - Rudolf Diesel (1% biodiesel and 99% diesel) can meet your engines lubricity requirement. Biodiesel also acts as a cleaner for your engine and fuel tank.

Other benefits of biodiesel include lower emissions for carbon dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons. Not only does this improve the air we breathe, but it helps Southeast Wisconsin meet federal Clean Air standards.

Lastly, because the majority of biodiesel is made in the United States, using biodiesel helps create American jobs and decrease the 60% of petroleum that is imported.

Sources: www.biodiesel.org www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/ 10 | October ReFUEL