ReFUEL March 2012 | Wisconsin Clean Cities - Southeast Area | Monthly Newsletter
Fuel Farms Forests from
and
Also In This Issue:
Did you know? Clean Cities has several national partnerships Member Spotlight: Kwik Trip Welcome New and Returning Members Question of the Month: Where can I look to find information about alternative fuels and vehicles with my children? Eye on Wisconsin Clean Cities “Driving Wisconsin Forward�
C onnec t W i t h Us O n T h e Web!
www.wicleancities.org
www.facebook.com/wisconsinCC
twitter.com/wccsea
www.youtube.com/wccsea
www.flickr.com/wicleancities
www.linkedin.com/ company/2442742?trk=tyah 1 | March ReFUEL
ReFUEL is Wisconsin Clean Cities Southeast Area’s (WCC-SEA) monthly coalition newsletter. WCC-SEA is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), organization, and is one of nearly 100 Clean Cities coalitions across the U.S. WCC-SEA works to reduce emissions, encourage the use of alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles, and develop the refueling infrastructure necessary to sustain the industry. If you would like to contribute to ReFUEL, please contact Lorrie Lisek at lorrie.lisek@wicleancities.org or call 414-221-4958. March ReFUEL | 2
C o nte nts Page 5
Did you know?
Clean Cities has several national partnerships
Page 7
Member Spotlight
Page 8
Welcome New and Returning Members
Page 9
Question of the Month
Kwik Trip
Where can I look to find information about alternative fuels and vehicles with my children?
Page 11
Fuel from Farms and Forests
Page 14
Eye On Clean Cities
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Propel with Propane
Are you a member yet? Start m ak i ng an impact by joining Wi s co ns i n Clean Cities today! It ’s al l a bo ut i m p r o vin g q u a l i ty o f life fo r t he pe o ple living in Wis c ons in. WCC-S EA r e l i es o n s u p p o r t f r o m o ur me mbers. Dues and co rpo rate mem be r shi p s e n a b l e W C C - SE A to ho ld me et ings, spo nso r educat ional work shop s, a n d p r o vid e v i ta l out reach mat e rials. What ca n W CC - S E A d o f o r y o u ? • Netw o r k i ng o p p o r tu n iti e s w i t h fleet s & indust ry part ners wit h ex pe r i e nce i n a l te r n a ti ve f u els & advanced ve hicle s • Tec hni ca l t r a in i n g , w o r ks h o p s, and we binars • I nfor ma t i on r e s o u r c e s o n a l t ernat ive fuels, advance d ve hicle s , idle r ed uc t i o n, a n d o th e r te c h n o lo gie s t hat re duce pe t ro le um use • I ndi v i d ua l c o n s u l ta tio n a n d technical assist ance • Fund i ng o p p o r tu n iti e s f r o m the U. S . Depart me nt o f Energy, st ate and local g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c ie s , no npro fit s, and fo undat io ns • P ub l i c r e cog n iti o n f o r p r o g r ess in reducing pet ro le um co nsump tion • Assi st a nce with m e d ia o u tr e ach
J oin toda y !
Visit w w w.w i c l e a n c i ti e s . o r g /j oin. php, e mail info @wicle ancit ies.org, o r cal l 4 1 4 -2 2 1- 4958.
Diamond, Platinum, and Gold Members:
Did yo u k now?
Cl ean C iti e s has several na t i o na l p ar t ner ships
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t the national level, Clean Cities collaborates with federal agencies, equipment manufacturers, fuel providers, industry associations, and large companies whose vehicle fleets operate in multiple states. These national-level partnerships include: • National Clean Fleets Partnership: Large private-sector fleets that operate in multiple states can work hand-in-hand with Clean Cities to reduce their petroleum consumption. Fleets receive specialized resources, expertise, and support to incorporate alternative fuels and advanced vehicles into their operations. • National Parks Initiative: Clean Cities partners with the National Park Service to support the use of renewable and alternative fuels, electric drive vehicles, and other advanced transportation technologies at national parks across the country. These efforts help improve air quality and promote the use of domestic energy resources. • Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program: Clean Cities works with the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program to train and certify people installing charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. • Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions: Clean Cities, the U.S. Department of Energy, General Motors, and Argonne National Laboratory work together to provide a forum for university students to demonstrate their innovations in transportation. Teams of students design and build advanced vehicles that minimize fuel consumption and reduce emissions. • AAA Greenlight Partnership: Clean Cities coalitions and AAA clubs work together at the community level to broaden local awareness and use of alternative fuels and advanced vehicles.
Learn more about Clean Cities! Visit http://www1. eere.energy.gov/cleancities/index.html.
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The AAA Greenlight Partnership promotes local use of alternative fuels and advanced vehicles.
l a u nn
A h 9t
Driving Toward 2020:
Green Vehicles Workshop May 4, 2011 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM MATC Downtown Campus Sponsorship Opportunities Available
Students Free with Registration
Non Student Registration: $25 Visit: www.wicleancities.org/events.php
Vehicles, Vehicles, Vehicles...
Odyne plug-in electric bucket truck recently acquired by Milwaukee County through the Wisconsin Clean Transportation Program (WCTP).
M e m be r Sp otl i g ht K w i k Tri p
K
wik Trip is the one of the largest convenience store chains in the upper Midwest. Headquartered in La Crosse, WI it operates in excess of 400 stores in three states: Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. The first convenience store opened in 1965 in Eau Claire, WI, but the chain did not begin to sell fuel until 1970. From there, Kwik Trip focused on vertical integration creating separation from its competitors both in quality and value. In 1975 Kwik Trip began making fresh, homemade sandwiches in its commissary and now produces over 1 million sandwiches per year. The Distribution Center Warehouse was established in 1980 and has grown into a newly expanded facility covering 295,000 square feet of dry, cooler, and freezer space. In 1981 Kwik Trip expanded into the Dairy business by leasing a local dairy plant. A few years later the dairy operation was moved to an expanded plant at the corporate support center. In addition to its bag and bottled milk the dairy produces 5,000 tons of ice cream per year. The smell of freshly made donuts was introduced to the Kwik Trip, Inc. Support Center in 1985 when they began production in their first Bakery. Since then the bakery had moved to its current location and is currently amidst its second major expansion. Kwik Trip continues to grow through new initiatives like a strong focus on food and value priced commodities, as well as, its newest endeavor; Natural Gas and other alternative fuels.
Kwik Trip has been selling alternative fuels since it first began dispensing E-85 in 2006. In addition to E-85, Kwik Trip also offers multiple grades of biodiesel at many retail locations. Not only does Kwik Trip currently offer green solutions for fuel but all recent C-Store construction is built to LEED Certified standards. Kwik Trip’s effort towards sustainable green fuel options continues to expand through vertical integration by opening the Nation’s first ever Alternative Fuels Station. Combined with Kwik Trip’s Beyond Green vehicle Solution, this flagship fueling station offers Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Propane, multiple grades of Biodiesel, E-85, and EV rapid chargers. The Beyond Green Solution is complete from design/build and implementation of a green fleet to the fuel and services needed to maintain and operate your green vehicle. The C-Store industry has asked, “what is Kwik Trip going to sell in the future for fuel”. For Kwik Trip, the answer is the only sustainable, abundant and domestic fuel source: Natural Gas. Kwik Trip has committed to developing a functional Natural Gas infrastructure throughout WI, MN, and IA. While Kwik Trip believes Natural Gas is the fuel of the future it is committed to all alternative fuel options. Learn more about Kwik Trip and their efforts by visiting: http://www.kwiktrip.com/. 7 | March ReFUEL
Welcome and
new
returning
Members
Milwaukee County Ferrellgas Wisconsin Propane Gas Association SunPower Biodiesel ROUSH CleanTech General Motors
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Q A
Ques tion o f the Mo nt h
: Where can I find information about alternative fuels and vehicles with my children?
: Teaching your children about the need to conserve oil and converting to alternative fuels is of the utmost importance. Not only will your child someday make a decision on what vehicle to purchase, but our children will be inheriting the earth and someday lead our country. In order to teach your children about oil consumption, air quality, and alternative fuels, vehicles, and technology, there are a variety of reliable resources you can use that will also make learning fun. 1. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (www.eia.gov/kids/) has a great site that teaches kids where different energy sources come from, what they are used for, and how much the United States uses of each source. Not only does the site have games and activities that your children will love, but it also contains statistics that you may find interesting as well. 2. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels & Advanced Vehicles Data Center (www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/locator/stations/) provides a map that will teach your children how easily accessible alternative fuels really are. Find your home or child’s school and see if you can find the nearest station for each fuel. You may even be surprised at how easy filling up on a green fuel is.
3. Growth Energy (www.drivingethanol.org) provides a great interactive site that will teach your children how ethanol is made, how it is used, and how it can benefit America. 4. Smog City 2 (www.smogcity2.org) is an amazing site that provides an interactive simulator that allows your child to see how weather, industry, vehicle type, and population size all affects a city’s air quality. According to the site, “In Smog City 2 you are in charge - so whether your visit is a healthy or unhealthy experience depends on the decisions that you make.” 5. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids) provides a site that teaches children the causes and effects of climate change. By using videos, graphs, and common climate change myths, the site will teach you and your children about climate change.
Smog City 2 simulation game.
6. The U.S. EPA also manages Air Now (www.airnow.gov), a site that forecasts air quality. Put in your zip code to discover whether today the air quality is clean or polluted.
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WCC-SEA PARTNERING TO PRESENT:
Don’t Miss This Acclaimed Business/Academic Conference With outstanding local, regional, national and international speakers, the Green Energy Summit and Exposition attracts over 3000 attendees eager to explore timely topics in energy, water and sustainability. We invite you to join the 2012 Summit as a volunteer, sponsor, exhibitor, presenter or attendee.
www.greenenergysummit.us
Fuel from Farms and Forests E
thanol is a renewable fuel made from various plant materials, which collectively are called “biomass.” Ethanol contains the same chemical compound (C2H5OH) found in alcoholic beverages. Nearly half of U.S. gasoline contains ethanol in a low-level blend to oxygenate the fuel and reduce air pollution. Ethanol is also increasingly available in E85, an alternative fuel that can be used in flexible fuel vehicles. Studies have estimated that ethanol and other biofuels could replace 30% or more of U.S. gasoline demand by 2030. Several steps are required to make ethanol available as a vehicle fuel. Biomass feedstocks are grown, then various logistical systems are used to collect and transport them to ethanol production facilities. After ethanol is produced at the facilities, a distribution network supplies ethanol-gasoline The hybrid cottonwood tree is one of many types of quick-growing blends to fueling stations for use by drivers. Ethanol species ideal for ethanol production. is made of the same chemical compound—and it is the same renewable biofuel—whether it is produced from starch- and sugar-based feedstocks such as corn grain and sugar cane or from cellulosic feedstocks. Making ethanol from cellulosic feedstocks—such as grass, wood, crop residues, or old newspapers— is more challenging than using starch or sugars. These materials must first be broken down into their component sugars for subsequent fermentation to ethanol in a process called biochemical c onversion. Cellulosic feedstocks also can be converted into ethanol using heat and chemicals in a process called thermochemical conversion. Cellulosic ethanol conversion processes are a major focus of U.S. Department of Energy research. Reducing Imported Oil and Supporting the U.S. Economy Whether used in low-level blends, such as E10 (10% ethanol, 90% gasoline), or in E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline), ethanol helps reduce imported oil and supports the U.S. agricultural sector. About two-thirds of U.S. petroleum demand is in the transportation sector. Sixty percent of U.S. petroleum is currently imported. Depending heavily on foreign petroleum supplies puts the United States at risk for trade deficits, supply disruption, and price changes. Ethanol, on the other hand, is almost entirely produced from domestic crops today.
A basic description of the ethanol distribution system. 11 | March ReFUEL
Ethanol production is a new industry that is creating jobs in rural areas where employment opportunities are needed. The Renewable Fuels Association’s 2011 Ethanol Industry Outlook report calculated that in 2010 the ethanol
industry replaced the gasoline produced from more than 445 million barrels of imported oil. In addition, ethanol production supported more than 400,000 jobs across the country. A recent report (Economic Contribution of the Partial Exemption for Ethanol From the Federal Excise Tax on Motor Fuel) claims there is an economic return on investment of nearly five to one for each dollar spent in the form of the federal tax incentive for ethanol use. The Energy Balance and Greenhouse Gases Ethanol in the United States is mainly produced from the starch in corn grain. Some studies have suggested that corn-based ethanol has a negative energy balance. However, a Source: Renewable Fuels Association, 2009 preponderance of recent studies using updated data about corn production methods demonstrates a positive energy balance for corn ethanol. Additionally, once the technology to produce cellulosic ethanol becomes widely available, the energy lifecycle balance of ethanol will improve. That’s because it will be produced using less fossil fuel and more energy-efficient feedstocks, such as fast-growing trees, corn stover, grain straw, switchgrass, forest product residues, and municipal waste. Cellulosic ethanol also produces lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Using ethanol as a vehicle fuel provides local and global benefits—reducing emissions of harmful pollutants and greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas implicated in global warming (others include methane and nitrous oxide). The CO2 released when ethanol is burned as a vehicle fuel is offset by the CO2 captured when crops used to make the ethanol are grown. As a result, ethanol-powered vehicles produce less net CO2 than gasoline-powered vehicles per mile traveled. In fact, studies have shown that, when entire fuel cycles are considered, using corn-based ethanol instead of gasoline reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 19% to 52%, depending on the source of energy used during ethanol production. Using cellulosic ethanol provides an even greater benefit—reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 86%. Recent studies have shown the importance of incorporating assumptions about future crop production rates and land use into life-cycle analyses; these factors can affect net greenhouse gas emission calculations substantially. Distribution Network Ethanol producers face unique distribution challenges. Most ethanol plants are concentrated in the Midwestern United States, but gasoline consumption is highest along the East and West Coasts. Source: Source: Life-Cycle Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Impacts of Different Corn Ethanol Plant Types; DOE Biomass Program
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 90% of ethanol is transported by train or truck. The March ReFUEL | 12
remaining 10% is transported by barge or pipeline. A tanker truck can carry 8,000 to 10,000 gallons of ethanol, and one rail car can carry approximately 30,000 gallons of ethanol. Delivering ethanol by pipeline is the most desirable option, but ethanol’s affinity for water and solvent properties require use of a dedicated pipeline or significant cleanup of existing pipelines. Infrastructure and Vehicles Low-level ethanol blends such as E10 already constitute much of the gasoline sold in the United States. Low-level blends require no special fueling equipment and can be used in any gasoline-powered vehicle. E85 fueling equipment is slightly different than petroleum fueling equipment, but the costs are An E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) pump at a fueling station. similar. In some cases, it is possible to convert existing petroleum equipment to handle E85. Flexiblt Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) designed to run on E85 are becoming more common each model year, and FFVs are typically available as standard equipment with little or no incremental cost. Also, because FFVs can be fueled with gasoline as well as E85, drivers have the flexibility to travel outside of areas served by E85 fueling stations. Ethanol is blended with gasoline in various amounts for use in vehicles. Low-level blends, up to E10 (10% ethanol, 90% gasoline), are classified as “substantially similar” to gasoline by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), meaning they can be used legally in any gasoline-powered vehicle. EPA approved a waiver for E15 in vehicles model year 2001 and newer, though multiple federal and state laws and regulations must be amended before E15 will be available at stations. Low-level and intermediate blends do not qualify as alternative fuels under the Energy The required label for a flexible fuel vehicle. This label signifies that a vehicle can be fueled with ethanol. Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct).
S o me r esou rce s fo r et h a n o l f u e l an d ve hi c l e s: Alternative Fuels & Advanced Vehicles Data Center Fuel: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/ethanol/index.html Vehicles: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/vehicles/flexible_fuel.html American Coalition for Ethanol http://www.ethanol.org/ Ethanol Facts http://www.ethanolfacts.com/ Ethanol Producers and Consumers (EPAC) http://www.ethanolmt.org/ NREL Biomass Research http://www.nrel.gov/biomass/ 13 | March ReFUEL
Eye on Wisconsin Clean Cities O
n February 22, 2012, Wisconsin Clean Cities hosted the first of several workshops in a series called “ReFuel.” The workshop, “Propel with Propane,” was held at Outpost Natural Foods in Bay View from 8:00 AM until 11:00 AM. The workshop featured experts speaking about all aspects of propane, as well as several vehicles attendees were able to view, ride, and drive. Thank you to all that attended, and thank you again to our sponsors! Visit www.wicleancities.org to find out about more WCC events.
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1) Robert Little from ROUSH CleanTech speaking about propane vehicles; 2) Attendees listening intently, learning, and asking questions; 3) Paul Scozzafave, Ferrellgas, and Robert Little, ROUSH CleanTech; 4) A propane-powered Blue Bird bus provided by Wisconsin Bus Sales 4
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Thank you sponsors! Your contributions helped make the day great!
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