Does natural gas make sense for freight? Environmental and resource implications of the "Pickens Plan".

Details

• Creators:
  Meier, Paul J. ; Holloway, Tracey ; Luedke, Matt ; Frost, Ethan A. ; Scotty, Erica ; Williams, Scott P. ; Bickford, Erica
• Corporate Creators:
  National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (U.S.)
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Dept. of Transportation. Research and Innovative Technology Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Air Quality Diesel Engine Exhaust Gases Environmental Impacts Environmental Policy Freight Transportation Greenhouse Gases Liquefied Natural Gas Renewable Energy Sources
• Publication/ Report Number:
  CFIRE 04-22
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (U.S.)
• NTL Classification:
  NTL-FREIGHT-FREIGHT ; NTL-ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT-Environment Impacts ; NTL-ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT-Air Quality
• Abstract:
  The “Pickens Plan” is a highly promoted U.S. energy strategy, proposing to use natural gas as a transportation fuel to
  
  displace imported oil and, simultaneously, to increase renewable contributions to national electricity production. While the
  
  principal goal of the Pickens Plan is to improve domestic energy security and its associated foreign trade imbalance, we
  
  investigated the proposed strategies for their environmental benefits. We simulated a variation of the Pickens Plan across
  
  a seven-state Midwestern U.S. region to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) and air quality implications of the plan. In
  
  this scenario, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is used to replace 100 percent of long-haul, diesel-powered freight, while windpower
  
  is roughly doubled over the anticipated 2020 levels under existing renewable portfolio standards. Relative to a
  
  business-as-usual (BAU) reference case, the Pickens scenario reduces NOx, SO2, and GHG emissions. Most reductions
  
  occur within the electricity sector versus the freight sector: 73 percent of NOx reductions, 99 percent of SO2 reductions,
  
  and 94 percent of GHG reductions occurred within the power sector. While the LNG truck is estimated to have 21 percent
  
  lower GHG emissions than its diesel counterpart, methane leakage from the natural gas fuel cycle significantly reduces
  
  the GHG benefit from LNG trucking. Thus, LNG-powered freight only slightly reduces greenhouse gas emissions relative
  
  to the diesel-powered freight. To assess the benefits of natural gas in the transportation sector (Pickens Plan) versus the
  
  electricity sector, we considered a scenario where natural gas is increased in the electricity sector instead of the freight
  
  sector. This scenario yielded greater emissions reductions than the Pickens plan for all species, suggesting that natural
  
  gas fuel switching has more impact as an emissions mitigating measure within the electricity sector, rather than within the
  
  freight sector. To assess how emissions reductions would affect ambient pollutant concentrations, and the formation of
  
  secondary air pollutants, we employed a regional air quality model. Under the Pickens scenario, ambient concentrations
  
  of SO2, NO2, O3 and PM2.5 were all reduced relative to BAU. In general, the largest reductions were simulated near metro
  
  areas, along major highways, and in the Ohio River Valley.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  DTRT06-G-0020
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:570beeea8df0adfbfc91b212eb751f370f62ba4358a30230ff2b67f15e8cc92df821ea2be7ff6ba06da14418a2c16d2f0ddc9918edecf5478e7c4fbfe8d87151
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/26176/dot_26176_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.60 MB ]