Here's part of an article about NATGAS / RNG. Production more than doubled between 2015 and 2018.
Maybe that is why NatGas truck sales are up over 20% so far this year.
What could revive them is renewable natural gas, RNG for short. Also known as biomethane, it differs from traditional sources of natural gas because it’s derived from renewable sources such as decomposing organic waste in landfills, wastewater treatment, and agriculture. It’s then distributed through the natural gas pipeline and made available as either liquefied or compressed natural gas.
RNG is completely interchangeable with conventional natural gas. It’s a drop-in fuel that can replace, or blend with, natural gas. And it’s sustainable.
Think about that. An environmentally supportable fuel that can be home-grown at your local landfill. It can even be a circular solution, as it is for some refuse haulers. Republic Waste, for instance, has several operations in which material brought to a landfill is processed on-site to capture methane that fuels the very trucks doing the carriage. Neat and very tidy.
RNG production in North America more than doubled between 2015 and 2018, and that growth is now being helped by United Parcel Service. The giant courier outfit just dramatically increased its commitment to RNG by contracting with Clean Energy Fuels for 170 million diesel-gallon equivalents (DGEs) of ‘Redeem’ RNG through 2026. It’s the largest such deal ever.
This wouldn’t work for everyone, but until we see batteries or fuel cells that can affordably power our long-haul machinery – and that’s not going to be soon – RNG strikes me as the most useful alternative to diesel out there.
