ROCKFORD, Ill. -
For local transportation companies, it’s not easy being green.
They make their money hauling products, people and waste in
diesel-guzzling, exhaust-spewing rigs. They’re the ones who can least
afford to drive less.
But with diesel prices approaching $5 a gallon and global warming
warnings growing more dire, those companies are starting to look for
alternatives.
“I have children and I have grandchildren, and I think the government
will eventually move toward mandating more green electricity and more
green fuels,” said Gary Marzorati, president of William Charles, which
owns Rock River Disposal and several other companies. Marzorati is also
on the BusinessRockford.com advisory board.
“It’s moving that way, and we always like to be out in front. “It’s not just a good thing, it’s the way things are going to be.”
Rock River Disposal recently started using a cleaner-burning,
propane-powered trash hauler. Marzorati and others also are talking
with Clean Energy, the largest provider of vehicular natural gas in
North America, about opening a filling station here.
These efforts are key for the Rock River Valley’s economy because much
of the business growth here is with distribution centers, trucking
firms and other logistics operations. Some companies, including Bay
Valley Foods in Rochelle, have expanded despite fuel costs. But
economic leaders worry whether others will follow.
“A lot of their models didn’t have diesel fuel at the price it is
today,” said Janyce Fadden, president of the Rockford Area Economic
Development Council and executive director of the I-39 Logistics
Corridor Association. “People are not prepared to predict how that will
change their decisions in terms of distribution networks.”
What a gas
Legendary oilman and Clean Energy founder T. Boone Pickens has seen the writing on the wall.
He has proposed using wind energy instead of natural gas to create electricity, saving the natural gas for transportation.
“It’s the cleanest fossil fuel you can use,” Jo-Ann Yantzis, regional
manager for Clean Energy, said at a Rockford presentation this month.
For example, 2010-model natural-gas engines for medium heavy-duty
trucks are six times cleaner in smog-causing nitrogen oxides than new
“clean diesel” engines on the market. They also cut greenhouse gases 23
percent and reduce soot.
Besides the environmental benefits, natural gas saves at least 50 cents
per equivalent gallon of diesel, she said. But a trash hauler powered
by natural gas costs $50,000 to $60,000 more than a conventional truck.
So a $32,000 federal tax credit and grant programs are available to
help pay for vehicles.
Besides, Yantzis said, government requirements for new soot filters and
cleaner-burning engines in conventional diesel vehicles will reduce the
difference in capital costs over the next few years.
Clean Energy’s proposal is to open a compressed natural gas fueling
station in Rockford as early as next year. Rock River Disposal and
other vehicle fleets could use the station, which would be in a central
location, such as Chicago Rockford International Airport.
For it to be economically viable, though, several users would have to
join together to guarantee regular business. Rockford Mass Transit
District and the airport are considering the idea; other candidates may
yet be approached.
Compressed natural gas can’t power semis and other class A trucks, just
smaller commercial vehicles. A separate liquefied natural gas filling
station would be needed for the big rigs. Garnet Glover, Clean Energy’s
general manager for the eastern U.S. and Canada, said the Rockford area
may have enough regional trucking companies — with vehicles that travel
about 250 miles a day — to make that work, too.
“It’s kind of the chicken and the egg,” Marzorati said. “If someone starts it, other people will follow.”
Airfield of dreams
The airport makes sense as a location because it’s the site of
Freedom Field, a Winnebago County initiative to develop sources of
alternative energy.
Freedom Field was conceived as a hydrogen-fuel center, part of a
Midwestern network, board Chairman John Holmstrom said. But the network
never happened, so local leaders aimed their project toward biomass —
growing plant matter for fuel — and solar energy.
But if the private Clean Energy successfully develops fueling centers
in places like Rockford, Holmstrom said, the company could eventually
develop its own network.
Several airport tenants could benefit from an alternative-fuel center.
The airport already uses some “flex fuel” vehicles that run on an
ethanol blend, Executive Director Bob O’Brien said. He’s interested in
other types of vehicles to cut soaring fuel costs.
The rising cost of fuel “isn’t a one-time event,” he said. “It’s
becoming painfully clear to everybody that we cannot continue to do
just what we’ve been doing.”
UPS Inc. could be a potential user. The global delivery company is the largest tenant at the airport.
It has 1,600 alternative-fuel vehicles in its 94,000-vehicle fleet, although none are based in Rockford.
Spokeswoman Christine Hand said UPS is testing various technologies —
electric, gas/electric hybrids, compressed natural gas, liquefied
natural gas, propane and hydraulics — to see which work best in
different environments. Eventually, Rockford will see some of those
vehicles.
UPS has taken other steps to cut fuel costs. It famously sets delivery
routes to reduce left turns, thus reducing time sitting in the middle
of traffic. In 2007, UPS shaved 30 million miles — and 3 million
gallons of gas — off its U.S. routes with new planning software.
It’s not just a way to save money and help the environment, she said.
Boasting their industry’s largest fleet of alternative-fuel vehicles is
a marketing tool.
“UPS is sensitive to how people feel about the companies they do
business with,” Hand said. “We want them to understand that we care
about the environment.”
Long-term fix
The best technologies may be yet to come.
Natural gas may be cleaner than diesel, but it’s still a fossil fuel.
Ethanol may reduce our reliance on foreign oil, but when it comes from
soy or corn, it actually has a worse “ground to tank” carbon footprint
than gasoline, said Brian Granahan, staff attorney for nonprofit
advocacy group Environment Illinois.
His group believes the key is electric-based alternatives. By putting
public and private money into research, Granahan says, the U.S. could
develop transportation infrastructure to move goods through plug-in
hybrids.
That means solar, wind and other renewable forms of electricity
generation, hooked up to a comprehensive national grid so vehicles are
never without a power source.
The Clean Energy folks agree that natural gas is just a “bridge” until
hydrogen and other renewable transportation energy sources are
developed.
Such an investment will take years, so Granahan proposes other short-term measures to cut costs and environmental impact.
Rather than focus on short-term solutions for transportation, he said,
companies could install alternative-energy technology to heat, cool and
power their facilities. The cost savings could then be used to develop
real long-term solutions for transportation needs.
“That might not necessarily help them get goods from point A to point B
at a cheaper price or a lower environmental impact immediately, but
ultimately it will help their business,” he said.
He said businesses should lobby the government to support more
energy-efficient transportation options, from upgrading the freight
rail system to expanding the electric grid, because the private sector
has more power than it realizes.
“What businesses do have is the ability to influence their legislators
by being a source of jobs and a source of revenue. ... Right now
legislators are just hearing from a bunch of environmentalists.
“The truth is, we’ve got to change the model because gas prices aren’t coming down anytime soon.”
Thomas V. Bona can be reached at (815) 987-1343 or tbona@rrstar.com.
How to get involved
If your company or organization is interested in learning more about
natural gas to fuel your vehicles, contact John Holmstrom at William
Charles, (815) 963-7400 or jholmstrom@williamcharles.com.
