CleanFuel CNG Blog

The Railroad Commission of Texas, which oversees oil and gas production in the state, recently reorganized some of its staff to improve efficiency and pave the way for a possible future increase in the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) as a transportation fuel.

The three commissioners, based in Austin, unanimously approved the creation of the Alternative Energy Division (AED) on Oct. 22. Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the commission in 2005, announced the AED’s launch the following day.

The new division, which focuses on existing alternative energy currently under the commission’s jurisdiction, is comprised of staff from across the agency, now united under one common purpose: the promotion and regulation of alternative fuels throughout the state of Texas. It’s being billed as a more efficient way to manage operations because there can be cross-training of inspectors, trainers, marketers and licensors in one place.

The Railroad Commission of Texas already has been promoting propane as a transportation fuel. According to the commission, Texas operates about 10.000 propane vehicles, and about 1.500, or 4 percent, of the state’s school buses are propane-powered. About 35 Texas districts operate propane school buses, and some have been using the fuel for more than 25 years.

Other important fuels would be liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas, which is used in many fleet vehicles. In the Fort Worth-Dallas area, three districts operate a total of about 40 CNG buses, according to the commission.

Barnett Shale Energy Education Council Executive Director Ed Ireland is a proponent of natural gas as a transportation fuel. Ireland and Texas Christian University’s Ken Morgan, director of the Energy Institute, recently launched the Metroplex Natural Gas Vehicle Consortium, which aims to bring together groups and people who are interested in natural gas vehicles, including fleet operators, natural gas producers and more. One of the consortium’s goals is to encourage the building of natural gas-fueling stations.

The US state of Texas has passed House Bill 432 that addresses limitations in previous legislation, to remove financial disincentives to purchasing alternative fuel vehicles and clarify government requirements for state fleets. The bill, which becomes law on September 1, 2009, amends the Government Code to provide that purchasing requirements relating to state agency purchases of alternatively fueled vehicles do not apply if an agency demonstrates that it will incur net costs in meeting those requirements. It also amends provisions to specify that such vehicles must use alternative fuels, rather than just be capable of using alternative fuels, and to specify that a vehicle meets the use requirement if it uses an alternative fuel not less than 80 percent of the time it is driven.

The bill sets a new deadline, September 20, 2010, for agencies that operate a fleet of more than 15 motor vehicles, excluding law enforcement and emergency vehicles, to have a fleet in which at least 50 percent of the vehicles use alternative fuels.

It transfers from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to the comptroller of public accounts the power to reduce or waive these requirements.

The bill applies certain low emissions vehicle purchasing requirements not just to a state agency that purchases 10 or more vehicles in a state fiscal biennium, as under previous law, but to any agency that is authorized to purchase passenger vehicles or other ground transportation vehicles for general use. It increases, from 10 to 25 percent, the minimum percentage of purchased vehicles, other than exempted vehicles, that must meet those emission standards and expands the vehicles exempted to include a vehicle to be used by a peace officer whose duties include the apprehension of persons for violation of a Texas criminal law.

The US State of Texas has approved legislation targeted to increase the number of alternative fuel vehicles, including natural gas-fueled vehicles, in both state agency and private vehicle fleets, according to a press release from Clean Energy. Providing financial incentives in the form of grant funding, the state’s new Clean Fleet Program -SB1759 – encourages private fleet owners to replace their medium-to-heavy-duty diesel vehicles with alternative fueled-models, including those powered by natural gas.

Companion legislation – newly-enacted HB 432 – amends the State’s current Fleet Alternative Fuel Program to mandate that 50% of the state’s 27,000 fleet vehicles must use clean alternatives fuels like compressed natural gas (CNG) 80% of the time. The only exceptions are for law enforcement or emergency vehicles, or if an agency demonstrates that it is not cost-effective to meet the requirements. Although state agencies must meet the requirements by September 1, 2010, the legislation will likely be phased-in as diesel and gasoline-powered state fleet vehicles come up for replacement.