Re: Power production

[Scott Hull <ScottHull@compuserve.com>]

Peter VanDerWal wrote:

>Hybrids powered by CNG would produce very little pollution though I
>don't know how they compare efficiency wise.  Anybody know how far ICEs
>converted to run on CNG go?  It takes 10.5 cubic feet of natural gas to
>produce 1kwh of electricity.

I was just looking at a car at a PG&E display at Cal Poly the other day.
The representative said that it held the equivalent of about 4 or 5 gallons
of gasoline. The car appeared to be a compact with the cylinders mounted
behind the passenger seat.

A lot of the transit busses and school buses in San Luis Obispo run on
natural gas. They have very large tanks mounted under the floor or inside a
tall roof. There is at least one commercial fueling station in San Luis
Obispo where you can buy CNG.

I investigated using natural gas for my Manx when I started the project a
few years ago. At the time there was no good way to fill them at home. A
company called FuelMaker now has smaller natural gas fueling stations for
residential use. About $4000 for a 2 cu.ft./min, 3000 psi setup. The rep.
mentioned that they were working on a smaller home version, about $900 and
able to fill the car overnight which means about 1/2 to 1 cu.ft./min.

Natural gas is probably one of the cleanest "fossil" fuels. Several models
of cars are already available with CNG capability. A hybrid running on CNG
might be a better alternative to EVs charged from natural gas fueled power
plants.

Ultimately we need to use more non-polluting, renewable sources. This is
where EVs have an advantage.

SAH