Clean Cities with Clean Fleets
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Clean Cities with Clean Fleets |
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CaliforniaCarsonBP And Edison Plan $1 Billion 500MW Hydrogen Power PlantEnergy giants BP and Edison are considering investing $1 billion for a new use of hydrogen – generating electricity on a large scale. Instead of this large scale plant using coal, natural gas or nuclear, it will use hydrogen. The plant would be in Carson, California, near BP’s current oil-refining operations that heavily use hydrogen to produce cleaner, high-octane gasoline. Complete Article Los AngelesLA Metro Installing Solar on All FacilitiesThe Metro Board of Directors has approved $5 million for a new solar generation. This starts a comprehensive three-year plan to install solar panels on every Metro Bus and Rail facility within its Los Angeles County service area. Solar panels will be installed on Metro Bus Division 18’s maintenance building rooftop and as shading structures in the employee parking lot and will consist of about 1,600 solar panels that together will generate 417 kilowatts of electricity, enough power to save Metro about $25,000 per month, or $300,000 per year. Solar OaklandAC Transit Leadership with Hydrogen Buses and CarsThe HyRoad program is considered the most comprehensive hydrogen fuel cell demonstration in North America because it includes: * Over 1,000 riders per day in full service Palm SpringsSunline Transit AgencySunLine Transit Agency provides public transit and community services to California's Coachella Valley. The service area is more than 1,100 square miles and includes nine member cities, as well as Riverside County. Over the years, SunLine has pursued an aggressive strategy for implementing clean technologies into its fleet. SunLine began by switching its fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG), then moved toward more advanced technologies, such as hydrogen/compressed natural gas (HCNG) blended fuels and fuel cells. The agency has established itself as a test bed for multiple vehicle and hydrogen production technologies. NREL Reports San FranciscoBay Area is World Leader in CarsharingThousands have avoided car ownership in the Bay Area with carsharing combined with public transit use. In the United States, between 12 and 68 percent of car sharers postpone or avoid buying a car. Also, every car sharing vehicle on the road accounts for six to 23 cars taken off the personally owned vehicle roster in this country and Canada, according to an April paper published by University of California, Berkeley's Partnership for Advanced Transit and Highways, a research group. Inside Bay Area San JoseSanta Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)VTA provides service in Santa Clara county. VTA provides bus and light rail service in Santa Clara County, as well as congestion mitigation, highway improvement projects, and countywide transportation planning. VTA's 423 buses serve an annual ridership of more than 39 million and cover approximately 326 square miles.In 2005, VTA put into service 3 hydrogen fuel cell buses made by Gillig Corporation and Ballard Power Systems. Santa MonicaSolar Santa Monica with a Fleet that is 80% Alt-FuelJohn Addison (3/13/07 update) Santa Monica wants to be the nation’s first “Net Zero” city. Through energy efficiency, solar and other renewable energy, the city envisions generating clean energy that matches its total energy consumption. Solar Santa Monica formally launches a two year program on January 1, 2007. The voluntary program will start with 50 residential and commercial buildings. Santa Monica goes beyond clean electricity to be a city that models clean transportation. Over 80% of the city’s 519 vehicles are either alt-fuel or electric. 5 of the city’s fleet of Toyota Priuses were converted by Quantum to run on pure hydrogen. Article TorranceLow Cost HydrogenThere is uproar over the cost of gasoline. A hydrogen future is being promoted as a way to end our dependency on oil, but will hydrogen ever be less expensive than gasoline? The long-term answer is yes. In Torrance, the major oil refiners use hydrogen to make our gasoline cleaner and high octane. In Torrance, there is a hydrogen pipeline. That pipeline is being extended to a new hydrogen fueling station, where hydrogen will be less expensive than gasoline. Hydrogen is expected to cost under $3 per gasoline gallon equivalent at the pump. Complete Article InternationalBeijing, ChinaChina plans to convert 10,000 CNG buses to run on a blend of 20% hydrogen prior to the start of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The Chinese organizations in the project are the China Association for Hydrogen Energy (CAHE), China Electronic Engineering Design Institute (CEEDI), Tsinghua University and Shougang Technology Research Institute (STRI). Hythane® reduces NOx emissions by 95% relative to diesel. In tests between Hythane® and CNG engines run by the Center for Transportation Technology and Systems, SunLine Transit Agency (which currently runs two Hythane® buses) and Cummins Westport, the Hythane® fueled engines reduced NOx emissions by 50%, non-methane hydrocarbons by 58%, methane by 16%, total hydrocarbons by 23% and CO2 by 7% (approximately 10 million tons per year). Green Car Congress
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