Research Studies
2013
Driving on Natural Gas: Fuel Price and Demand Scenarios
for NGVs to 2025
Petroleum-based fuels have dominated the U.S. transportation market for many decades. However, the lack of fuel diversity makes the economy and consumers susceptible to price shocks. This risk has spurred a growing commercial and public policy interest in alternative transportation fuels such as biofuels, natural gas and electricity. Natural gas provides one of the most promising long-term opportunities to diversify transportation fuel usage.
 Natural Gas Vehicles: Driving America to a More Prosperous,
Secure and Sustainable Future
There has been a sea change in public attitudes toward natural gas. Not so long ago natural gas was widely viewed as a "bridge fuel" to a future of clean, renewable energy. Now, amid a shale gas boom, many energy analysts regard it as a "foundation fuel" that can power America's economy in efficient, affordable and environmentally responsible ways for the rest of this century, and possibly beyond.
The Potential Gas Committee's Biennial 2012 Year-end Report
The Potential Gas Committee's (PGC) latest biennial assessment of the nation's natural gas resources indicates that the United States possesses a total technically recoverable resource base of 2,384 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) as of year-end 2012. This is the highest resource evaluation in the Committee's 48-year history, exceeding the previous high assessment (from 2010) by 486 Tcf. Most of the increase arose from new evaluations of shale gas resources in the Atlantic, Rocky Mountain, and Gulf Coast areas.
2012
 Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas
The production of unconventional natural gas—shale gas, tight gas, and coalbed methane—is threatened by the environmental and health concerns of the public. This report explores the challenges producers and government agencies face to overcome the social and environmental challenges of producing unconventional natural gas. The report concludes that overcoming these challenges with improved, better regulated practices will increase production costs by 7 percent.
 NEPI Working Paper: What set of conditions would make the business case to convert to natural gas trucks?
This case study recognizes the inherit social benefits of natural gas vehicles—improved national security, a lower trade deficit, and fewer vehicle emissions—but the question at hand is “What set of conditions would make the business case to convert to natural gas trucks?” By looking at Lynden Inc.'s pick up and delivery, farm pick up, and line haul operations, the report argues that the conditions are right for many high-mileage fleets (>70,000 miles/year) to make the switch to natural gas trucks.
 ANGA Compressed Natural Gas Infrastructure
This report provides a thorough analysis of and recommendations for the current compressed natural gas (CNG) infrastructure in the U.S. and Canada. The report examines the technical, economic, regulatory, social, and political drivers that will shape the development and expansion of this market.
ANGA Liquefied Natural Gas Infrastructure
This report provides a thorough analysis of and recommendations for the current liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure in the U.S. and Canada. The report examines the technical, economic, regulatory, social, and political drivers that will shape the development and expansion of this market.
 The Hamilton Project: Leveling the Playing Field for Natural Gas in Transportation
“This paper presents a pair of policy proposals designed to increase the nation’s energy security, decrease the susceptibility of the U.S. economy to recessions caused by oil-price shocks, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. First, [this paper] propose[s] improving the natural gas fueling infrastructure in homes, at local distribution companies, and along long-haul trucking routes. Second, [it] offer[s] steps to promote the use of natural gas vehicles and fuels.”
 2011
The Potential Gas Committee's Biennial 2010 Year-end Report
The Potential Gas Committee’s latest biennial assessment of the nation’s natural gas resources indicates that the United States possesses a total resource base of 1,898 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). This is the highest resource evaluation in the Committee’s 46-year history, which exceeds the last report by 61 Tcf. Most of the increase from the previous assessment arose from reevaluation of shale-gas plays in the Appalachian Basin, the Mid-Continent, Gulf Coast, and Rocky Mountain areas.
 International Energy Agency, “Are We Entering a Golden Age of Gas? June 2011
This report examines the key factors that could result in a more prominent role for natural gas in the global energy mix, including the use of natural gas in the road-transport sector worldwide. The report notes that while the use of natural gas in transportation is growing slowly, there is significant scope for faster penetration if there is both a favborable price differential between natural gas and oil and direct government support.
Marcellus Shale Coalition, “NGV Roadmap for Pennsylvania Jobs, Energy Security and Clean Air,” April 2011
While it is widely known that the Marcellus Shale ’s abundant, clean-burning natural gas resources represent one of the world’s largest energy reserves, this study examines one of the many long-term benefits associated with the responsible development of the Marcellus, in both the natural gas and transportation sectors. The study focuses on expanding Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs), which has the potential to provide Pennsylvania with a unique opportunity to achieve a more economically and environmentally sustainable future.
 Energy Vision, “Waste to Wheels: Building for Success,” June 2011
Every year, U.S. homes and institutions throw away enough garbage, yard trimmings, farm residues, and other organic waste to make renewable natural gas, a clean, petroleum-free fuel that could power millions of the nation’s trucks and buses. This report, written by Energy Vision, a national non-profit organization, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven and Argonne national laboratories, discusses the characteristics of this waste-based fuel. Much cleaner than petroleum fuels, it is chemically similar to conventional natural gas and can be blended with it or used to replace it. Because this fuel is made by processing the waste gases, it is called renewable natural gas, referred to as "RNG" or "biomethane."
PikeResearch, “Natural Gas Vehicles: Market Analysis and Global Forecasts for CNG and LNG Cars, Trucks and Buses,” 1Q 2011
Worldwide NGV sales will increase at a healthy pace over the next several years, rising from 1.9 million vehicles per year in 2010 to more than 3.2 million units annually by 2016, according to this report. Corporate and government fleets will represent two thirds of the total market by 2013, according to the report’s Executive Summary. The report also predicts that the U.S. market for NGVs will have the strongest growth, with a prediction that 32,619 vehicles will sold in the U.S. in 2016.
 Natural Resources Canada: “Natural Gas Use in the Canadian Transportation Sector: Deployment Roadmap,” January 2011
Natural Resources Canada facilitated this project, which discusses the potential for using natural gas as a transportation fuel use across the medium and heavy duty transportation sector in the country, including exploring strategies for overcoming barriers associated with its use. A key finding is that trucking fleets can improve their competitiveness and reduce their environmental impacts by using liquefied natural gas (LNG).
2010
 National Regulatory Research Institute: “Natural Gas Vehicles: What state public utility commissions should know and ask,” December 2010.
The premise of this paper is that state public service commissions should foster the market for natural gas vehicles by allowing natural gas utilities to charge ratepayers for investing in and operating the infrastructure to fuel these vehicles. This paper includes identifying issues that state commissions should address and questions they should ask.
 Argonne National Laboratory, “Natural Gas Vehicles: Status, Barriers, and Opportunities,” August 2010
This study determined that the country could reduce its daily oil consumption by 8% if commercial intra-city heavy-duty trucks and a significant number off-road vehicles switched to natural gas. Under these projections, the country could that could reduce petroleum consumption by 1.2 million barrels a day, while another 400,000 barrels of oil reduction could be achieved with significant use of natural gas off-road vehicles. The report was done for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program, which is a public-private partnership that supports local decisions that reduce petroleum use in the transportation sector.
Argonne National Laboratory, “Well-to-Wheels Analysis of Landfill Gas-Based Pathways and Their Addition to the Greet Model,” May 2010
Today, approximately 300 million standard cubic ft/day of natural gas and 1600 MW of electricity are produced from the decomposition of organic waste at 519 U.S. landfills. Since landfill gas is a renewable resource, this energy is considered renewable. This report discusses the size and scope of biomethane resources from landfills and the pathways by which those resources can be turned into and utilized as vehicle fuel. It includes characterizations of the landfill gas stream and the processes used to convert low-Btu landfill gas into high-Btu renewable natural gas.
 Center for American Progress, “American Fuel: Developing Natural Gas for Heavy Vehicles,” April 14, 2010
Creating incentives to convert the nation’s heavy vehicle fleet to natural gas would reduce oil use, invest in American energy sources, increase our energy independence and national security, and slash air pollution, according to the conclusions of this report. The analysis, which is based on current fleet turnover rates for each class of vehicle, determines that deployment of 3.5 million of these natural gas vehicles by 2035 would save at least 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, which is more oil than the U.S. imported from Venezuela in 2009.
 DENA, the German Energy Agency, “The role of natural gas and biomethane in the fuel mix of the future in Germany,” June 2010
This study shows that if the right policies are in place, the introduction of natural gas and biomethane to the transportation sector in Germany can be accelerated and the number of natural gas vehicles on Germany's roads increased from 85,000 to 1.4 million by 2020. Theoretically, all natural gas vehicles in Germany could be fueled with pure biomethane. The report notes that mixing 20% biomethane can reduce CO2 emissions by 39% in comparison to diesel, while pure biomethane can reduce the CO2 by 97%.
 Energy Vision, “The U.S. Can Act Now to Substantially Cut Oil Consumption by Putting Trucks and Buses on the Path to Sustainable Fuels,” June 2010
This paper makes the case that trucks and buses are the best starting point for ending the widely acknowledged dangers of the dependency on oil of U.S. transportation. It describes a practical strategy for moving these medium and heavy duty vehicles toward sustainable fuel and identifies policies that can help drive this shift.
 MIT, “The Future of Natural Gas: An Interdisciplinary MIT Study,” 2010
This comprehensive study conducted by a 30-member study concludes that abundant global natural gas resources imply greatly expanded natural gas use, and that natural gas will assume an increasing share of the U.S. energy mix over the next several decades, with the large unconventional resource playing a key role. The share of natural gas in the energy mix is likely to be even larger in the near to intermediate term in response to CO2 emission constraints. In the longer term, very stringent emission constraints may limit the role of all fossil fuels.
 National Energy Policy Institute, Resources for the Future, “Toward a New National Energy Policy: Assessing the Options,” June 2010
Targeting oil use by the nation’s heavy-duty diesel truck fleet is the most effective and cost-effective way to reduce oil consumption, according to this research study. The largest oil reductions come from fueling these vehicles with liquefied natural gas, which would result in a 2 million barrel a day reduction in oil dependency by 2030.
 National Grid, “Renewable Gas – Vision for a Sustainable Gas Network,” 2010
A detailed study commissioned by National Grid indicates that, over the long term, renewable gas has the technical potential to meet up to 25 percent of the natural gas demand in the four states served by National Grid (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island), not including natural gas demand for power generation (see Table 1). That is enough energy to meet the annual demand of approximately 2.2 million homes that use natural gas for heating in the Northeast.
 National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “Business Case for Compressed Natural Gas in Municipal Fleets,” June 2010
To assist fleets and businesses in evaluating the profitability of potential CNG projects, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory built the CNG Vehicle and Infrastructure Cash-Flow Evaluation model. The model demonstrates the relationship between project profitability and fleet operating parameters. This report describes how the model was used to establish guidance for fleets making decisions about using CNG.
2009
 American Gas Foundation, “Natural Gas End Use: A Vision for Today and the Future,” September 22, 2009
The report outlines how new innovations in end use technologies can ensure that natural gas will be a vital and integral part of America’s low carbon future. By capitalizing on research, development and demonstration (RD&D) opportunities for natural gas end uses in the residential, commercial, industrial and transportation sectors, the natural gas industry can meet today’s and future energy demands cleanly, efficiently and cost-effectively. The report outlines six near and long term goals for growing the market for natural gas vehicles, including investments in major technological advances leading to advanced natural gas hybrid vehicles and natural gas-to-hydrogen fuel stations for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
 Center for American Progress, “Natural Gas: A Bridge Fuel for the 21st Century,” August, 2009
This report concludes that because natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel, this creates an unprecedented opportunity to use gas as a bridge fuel to a 21st century energy economy that relies on efficiency, renewable sources, and low-carbon fossil fuels such as natural gas.
2006
 Marathon Technical Services, “Designing New Transit Bus Garages to be Fuel Flexible,” May 2006
This research report determines that if a facility is designed from the outset to be fuel flexible, that the capital cost impact of constructing a garage that is can be minimal—with much of the equipment virtually identical in performance for diesel and for gaseous fuels.
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