Transcript ALTERNATIVE FUELS USE IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD. Sharon Subadan, Chief

ALTERNATIVE FUELS USE IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD.
Sharon Subadan, Chief
Division of Fleet Management Services
Montgomery County is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area which is designated as a serious
NON-Attainment Area concerning air quality. Fleet Management Services of the Department of Public
Works and Transportation takes great pride in being among the first local jurisdictions to deploy the
use of domestic alternative fuels, in the thrust towards cleaner vehicle emissions and national selfreliance. Montgomery County continues to strive to reduce its emissions, while not investing in one
technology, it has adopted a “technology neutral” plan.
In our fleet we have:
 91 flex-fuel (Ethanol) vehicles;
 6 Hybrid-Electric Sedans.
 12 CNG vans & light trucks;
 42 Compressed Natural Gas buses;
Involvement in alternative fuels reflects the county’s strong commitment to local and national
Clean-Air programs. At the county government level we are obligated to provide the type of
leadership that could be emulated by our citizens, therefore, our participation in alternative fuel
usage is two-pronged
(1) to help provide cleaner air for our citizens to breathe, and
(2) to serve as a prototype for other public and private establishments that are interested in
expanding fuel alternatives.
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ETHANOL
In March of 2002 Fleet Management Services embarked on a project to
install a 10,000 gallon Ethanol fuel tank and dispensers at our
Gaithersburg facility in partnership with Maryland Corn Growers and the
State of MD who provided 70% of funding for the project.
The project was completed and opened ceremoniously on May 21, 2002
during National Public Works Week. This station is now open to the
public.
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Several makes/models are available to include Dodge Caravan & Stratus; Ford Explorer &
Taurus; Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban & Silverado
Currently the county has 91 flex-fuel light vehicles in its fleet. With increased knowledge,
awareness, and availability of E-85 at our modern state-of-the-art Gaithersburg site, we are
experiencing more and more usage of the product.
It is our intention to include 10% of our light equipment purchases as flex-fuel vehicles in
each fiscal year as funding and vehicle availability permits
Flex-fuel vehicles can interchangeably use E-85 or unleaded fuel and are available at no
additional cost
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E-85 is a blend of 85-percent ethanol and 15-percent gasoline. Ethanol contains hydrogen
and carbon, but also contains oxygen in its molecular structure. The oxygen makes
ethanol a cleaner burning fuel that could be produced chemically from ethylene or
biologically from corn, grain, agricultural waste, or any material containing starch or sugar.
Our Ethanol is made primarily from domestically produced corn and other renewable
agricultural and agro-forestry feedstock.
One gallon of ethanol fuel provides as much energy as three-quarters of a gallon of
unleaded gasoline.
By using E-85, there is a significant reduction in both carbon-monoxide and hydrocarbon
tailpipe emissions. Oxygenated ethanol promotes a more complete combustion of fuel that
lowers the level of CO emissions by as much as 30-percent, and reduces the net emissions
of greenhouse gases by 37-percent.
The current Washington Metropolitan Area price for regular unleaded gasoline is $1.769 as
compared to the current price for E-85 hosted by Montgomery County at $1.889, a 9%
difference.
Accommodations to include use of E-85 by members of the public using credit cards is
available with Visa and Mastercard
Montgomery County has applied to MDOE for funding $160,000.00 for 3 additional E-85
sites, Colesville, Silver Spring (will be open to public) and Seven Locks (closed to the
public). Plan will include a 10,000-gallon capacity ethanol tank.
Montgomery County was the recipient of the 2003 NACO Award, in the category of
Transportation. The County received the Best of Category for its E-85 site, which allows
purchases to be made by the general public via Visa and MasterCard. The site is the first of
its kind to have two proprietary fuel management systems working in series.
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Hybrid-Electric Vehicles
 Vehicle runs on electricity. Engine acts as a generator.

There are currently 6 hybrid-electric sedans in our Fleet

45-50 MPG in City and Highway
Lower Operating Cost
To be used in high mileage applications in order to reduce fuel usage. Increased Fuel
economy up to 28%
Lower Vehicle Emissions, reduce dependence on foreign oil


Smooth and quiet operation
No need to have an additional fueling station or facility upgrades
A percentage of light vehicles and trucks will be purchased as replacement vehicles
as funding is available.
The FY05 proposed budget includes funding for 5 hybrid-electric buses which
will replace older diesel buses.

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COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS
CNG bus program is proving to be an overwhelming success now with 42 full size transit
buses in operation
First 24 have accumulated mileage greater than 2.5 million miles. These miles were
previously recorded by old diesel buses.
All 42 are expected to accumulate an average of 4,000 miles/year with the new buses
maintenance costs parallels those associated with comparable diesel buses ($0.91 per mile).
A new fast-fill fuel station is being built in 2004 (cost of $3.4M). Due to the demand of the
permanent CNG compression units, a new natural gas pipeline was required to supply the
need. The new line is an 8” line that is dedicated to the site. It will deliver at a minimum
pressure of 80 PSI and will supply enough gas to produce over 1,000,000 DGEs annually.
The permanent CNG site, located at the main facility, is equipped with 3 Hanover 800HP
electric driven, 4 stage units, two TGT single hose dispensers. The site will handle fueling of
up to 200 CNG buses within a 8 hour timeframe.
Bus procurement in the next 2 years will be CNG, bringing the total to 79 replacement buses
(26% of total)
The FY05 proposed budget includes funding for 15 CNG buses which will replace older diesel
buses
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This year the County removed 18 1989 diesel buses from service that produced a total of
40.49 tons of emissions per year and replaced them with 18 low-floor CNG buses which
will produce a total of 7.50 tons of emissions per year. The replacement of those 18
diesel buses with new CNG buses reduced the County emissions from transit fleet by
30.22 tons per year.
1989 Diesel buses - 1.91 tons of NOX emission/yr per vehicle
0.11 tons of PM emission/yr per vehicle
2003 CNG buses - 0.32 tons of NOX emission/yr per vehicle
0.02 tons of PM emission/yr per vehicle
Low Floor Buses
• Allows driver to lower floor 4 inches closer to curb
• The ramp can be angled from 8% slope to nearly flat
• Can be operated automatic or manually
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CNG Fuel Site
CNG fast-fill fueling station is under construction and will allow more CNG buses to be
fast-filled and will significantly reduce fueling time. The permanent CNG fast fill site will
fill each bus within 5 minutes. The expected completion is scheduled for May 2004.
Due to the demand of the permanent CNG compression units, a new natural gas pipeline
was required to supply the need. The new line is an 8” line that is dedicated to the site.
This will deliver a minimum pressure of 80 PSI and will supply enough gas to produce
over 1,000,000 DGEs annually.
The permanent CNG site located at EMOC is equipped with 3 Hanover 800HP electric
driven, 4 stage units, 2 TGT single hose dispensers. The site will handle fueling of up to
200 CNG buses within a 8 hour time frame.
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Proposed Actions
 12 year replacement schedule for Ride-On
buses
 8 year, 80,000 mile replacement cycle for
passenger vehicles
 Technology neutral plan for Ride On bus to
reduce emissions by 25% by 2005 & 50% by
2010
 Future purchase of hybrid-electric buses
 Replace 20% of passenger vehicles with
clean technology vehicles ( hybrid-electric,
flex-fuel)
 Encourage municipalities to sign an
emission reduction pledge
 Provide annual scorecard by departments
for annual fleet emissions
 Add retrofit requirements and idling
restriction language to County issued
construction contracts
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