Electricity. Biodiesel. Natural gas. At one time or another, they've all been the flavor of the month when it comes to alternative fuels.
But as public agencies and businesses with large fleets look for ways to save money on fuel, qualify for grants, rebates and tax cuts -- or simply hope to do better by the environment -- supporters of the alternative fuels industries are finding that there's room for them all."We need to be using millions of electric vehicles, propane, biofuel and natural gas vehicles," Soll Sussman, renewable energy specialist with the Texas General Land Office, told about 200 people gathered at CentrePort Station on Thursday in far northeast Fort Worth for Clean Air Action Day."Everything is in place to develop natural gas vehicles in the U.S. There are 12 million natural-gas-powered vehicles around the world, yet fewer than 200,000 in the U.S. We are behind the boat," he said. "Garbage trucks, transit buses, are a logical choice for natural gas."Sussman was among a handful of dignitaries spotlighting ways for North Texans to use alternative fuels in their everyday lives.A major contributor to Dallas-Fort Worth's foul air remains the gasoline-powered, single-occupant vehicle, and one reason the event was held at CentrePort, one of the stops on the Trinity Railway Express line, was to encourage residents to use rail, buses and other forms of public transportation -- especially during the summer, when it can be harmful to breathe the region's smog-laced air.But other forms of Earth-friendly transportation were on display. When guests weren't taking bites of barbecue under a tent surrounded by mist-blowing fans, they ventured onto the scorching pavement of CentrePort Station and took test drives of vehicles using alternative fuels.The all electric Nissan Leaf and electric-gas Chevy Volt were on display, along with a propane-powered lawn mower, a diesel-electric hybrid school bus from Fort Worth and even one of the new articulated buses that the Fort Worth Transportation Authority plans to roll out on its busy East Lancaster Avenue route this summer. The buses run on compressed natural gas and have the look and feel of a passenger rail car on the inside.Experts spoke of successes and failures. For example, a record 1.3 billion gallons of biodiesel may be produced in 2013, up from just 300 million gallons in 2009."We see the quality of the fuel improving," said Kaleb Little, spokesman for the National Biodiesel Board.Also, about 20 electric charging stations have been installed in the Metroplex this year, and by the end of the year the total may be closer to 200 stations, said Lance Spross, director of advanced applications for Oncor Electric Delivery. "There's plenty of pie for all of us to share in this thing," Spross said.Gordon Dickson, 817-390-7796Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
