Alternative Fuel
Alternative Fuel
Alternative Fuel
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The Advantage in the Waste Industry
OutsOurcing reduces fuel cOsts and wOrking capital requirements, and drives greater financial and operational predictability while allowing organizations to take advantage of favorable regional alternatives for fuel choices.
Comparing Fuels
There has been a lot of publicity around CNG (compressed natural gas) and LNG (liquefied natural gas) powered vehicles, primarily due to the price disparity when compared to diesel. To illustrate, the national average price for CNG in October 2011 was $2.33 versus the national average price for diesel of $3.81 (average diesel price being roughly 64 percent higher by comparison). These savings are significant but the price of CNG varies even more greatly by region than diesel and requires significant investment from the organization in terms of fleet conversion (see Saddling Up to CNG sidebar). For example, in New England the average price was $2.74 for the same period versus a price of $1.66 in the Rocky Mountain region.1 Other alternatives to traditional diesel fuel that are increasingly more prevalent are the various blends of biodiesel. Factors to consider center around greater
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Saddling Up to Cng
To realize these savings, infrastructure investments are needed. Converting or repowering a conventional diesel collection vehicle can cost from companies, turning to third-party providers, or outsourcers, gives immediate access to needed fuel buying and managing expertise.
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$30,000 $100,000
to nearly per vehicle, with the average cost of a new vehicle being more than $170,000. In addition to this, fueling station construction costs have to be considered. Installing a bulk CNG fueling station is estimated to cost between $500,000 for a fleet of 15 trucks to $1.5 million to support a fleet of 100 vehicles.2
complex supply portfolio. By looking towards outsourced fuel management, they not only The Advantage in the Waste Industry mitigate risk associated with fuel supply complexity, but they also leapfrog into best-in-class fuel management capabilities. Outsourcing reduces fuel costs and working capital requirements, and drives greater financial and operational predictability while allowing organizations to take advantage of favorable regional alternatives for fuel choices. | WA Ryan Mossman is the General Manager and Vice President of Fuel Services for FuelQuest (Houston, TX). He leverages his years of experience applying technology and business process improvements to help energy, retail, commercial and industrial clients. Ryan leads FuelQuests outsourced fuel service, Fuel Center. His FuelQuest experience includes leading large-scale supply chain optimization, technology and business process implementations at large fleet and energy companies including UPS, U.S. Freightways and Chevron. Ryan can be reached at [email protected].
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Notes 1. Source: U.S. Department of EnergyClean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report October 2011. 2. Source: American RecyclerDemand Grows for Natural Gas Waste Hauling July 2011. 3. Source: U.S. Department of EnergyAlternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicle Data Center/Federal and State Incentives and Laws/Minnesota Incentives and Laws.
2012 Waste Advantage Magazine, All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from Waste Advantage Magazine. Contents cannot be reprinted without permission from the publisher.
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