Chino is located out where there are homes but few jobs that pay well. Many people commute more than 100 miles per day. Since the Civic GX has almost 200 mile range, this suits the purpose. However, no major auto maker makes an EV that has a 200 mile range. When they do, perhaps they will mandate outlets.

Neil,
NG can come from biomass fermentation a lot easier than BTL via gasification + FT synthesis. NG has been imported as well on LNG tankers. Perhaps there are more NG reserves to be found. Stranded NG can be brought to market as LNG.

Here's a table showing total CA demand for NG in 2005:

http://www.energy.ca.gov/naturalgas/statistics/natural_gas_demand.html

and a map showing where CA got its NG from that year:

http://www.energy.ca.gov/html/energysources.html

The primary reason for the large fraction of long-distance imports is NIMBYism, here's the most recent example:

http://www.sacbee.com/114/story/43953.html

The consequence is that NG is very expensive in CA. If CNG were to become a significant part of the CA vehicle fleet, aggregate demand would go up even further.

Chino is a relatively small town in Southern California east of LA. If it has an air quality problem, it's probably mostly due to NOx drifting in from the LA basin. Very gradually switching the local vehicle fleet to CNG will do little or nothing to mitigate that. Forcing Phill units to be installed in all new construction is therefore mostly a boondoggle for the manufacturer of those units.

---

Roger -

Given that CA is both a high-populations state and major agricultural producer, it would indeed be possible to produce large amounts of biogas from the waste (at a price). However, conditioning biogas such that it can be fed into the NG grid is very expensive.

Far better to use the biomass directly for distributed electricity generation in agricultural areas, using stationary large piston engines. The waste heat is available for district heating. Using the biomass this way frees up valuable NG for other uses, eliminating the need for any LNG infrastructure.

A similar concept, albeit based on forestry waste, is in operation in Austria:

http://www.clarke-energy.co.uk/clarke_energy/case-study-gussing.htm

The CO2 generated could be supplied to a local algae farm. For maximum efficiency, an absorption chiller could be added to provide low-cost year-round district climate control.

Is there a standard for refueling CNG cars? Many makers of these devices? This seems to be a very narrow requirement.

Hampden Wireless -

detailled info on the global state of CNG technology and standards is here:

http://www.iangv.org/

Replacement of Prius battery was claimed to be 4-6 grands expense. Well, it is one of the most guarded secrets of automotive industry (along with how much manufacture of a tire is cost). It takes me a lot of efforts to learn that current price of brand-new Prius battery pack is about 2000$, not counting recycling value of old battery.

Now, I carry in my trunk one pound weight 250 psi pump to fill-up my tires. I bought it for 15$. I doubt that Fill compressor is really costs 300 times more. But I do believe that AQMD and MSRC officials are stupid enough to spend 2000$ on intensives from their taxpayers money to pay for piece of equipment which I put in 500$ bracket.

You could have an SOFC in your home that runs on NG, provide power for the grid and heating and cooling for your home. Now put that SOFC on wheels and you have transport as well.

Rafael,
Yes, of course, conditioning biogas into "grid-acceptable" NG would be more expensive than burning biogas on the spot.
But, if you wanna have renewable automotive fuel, then perhaps bio-methane from fermentation of biowastes is among the less expensive ones, in comparison to BTL products, or even bio-diesel that uses valuable edible palm oil or other vegetable oils. H2 from gasified waste biomass would be another alternative low-cost renewable automotive fuel, but it can't be fed into the NG grid at the present.

Eventually, given the large size of desert areas in California with dependable sunny coverage, solar electricity will be able to displace more and more fossil fuels, leaving more NG and biomethane available for transportation. Wind electricity has also not been exploited enough.

All the ordinence requires is a place to connect the compressor unit, which is equally as expensive as having a place to connect a drier. The consumer would have to purchase the device that compresses the NG overnight on their own, which is a few thousand dollars.

Cost of putting an exta outlet while the home is being built: less than $50

Cost of running a new outlet to the garage from an existing line once the house is already built: ??? $500? More?

The text of the posting and the text of the AQMD newsletter article on which it is based strongly suggest that installation of the actual $2000 refueling appliance is required by the ordinance. But a search of the Chino municipal code actually supports Adam's statement, which is that the new ordinance only requires builders to install appropriate gas and electric outlets in their new garages, and the actual purchase and installation of a Phill or some similar such device is left to the homeowner.

Chino Mun. Code sec. 15.24.050 reads:

All newly constructed privately owned residential garages shall have a gas line and electrical outlet installed to a point along the garage wall that is near the vehicle’s fuel opening so that compressed natural gas fueling of a vehicle could occur in the future without obstruction. (Ord. 2005-17 § 8, 2005)

See: www.cityofchino.org.

One question I have is whether the location of the fueling port on CNG cars is standardized. In gasoline cars, for instance, the fill cap is sometimes located on the driver's side, and other times on the passenger side. If the location is not standardized, then the code becomes a little difficult to enforce with precision. At any rate, the actual ordinance is actually quite simple and cheap -- hardly a boondoggle in favor of the Phill manufacturer -- though you wouldn't know it based on the AQMD newsletter.

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