Cerulogy analysis finds supply of clean fuels for Washington could meet 11.2% CI reduction target by 2028
11 January 2019
Available clean fuels for the state of Washington could meet a 2028 target of 11.2% reduction in average carbon intensity by 2028, according to an analysis completed by independent research firm Cerulogy and commissioned by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
The largest fuel pathways used to meet this target include electricity, lower carbon sources of ethanol blended into gasoline, biodiesel and renewable diesel. Biomethane and renewable aviation fuel also contribute.
Carbon savings against baseline delivered in Steady Progress scenario.
Although the analysis only projects fuel availability out to 2030, the result are consistent with a reduction in carbon intensity of 20% by 2035.
The research was conducted by Chris Malins, who has a doctorate in applied mathematics from the University of Sheffield, was formerly Fuels Program Lead at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and is an independent global expert on low carbon and clean fuels policy.
Malins presented four scenarios: Steady Progress; Accelerated Progress; High EV; and Delayed EV.
The Steady Progress scenario assumes that in the early years of the program the largest carbon savings are delivered by first generation biofuels, while in later years the expected growth in the fleet of battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in Washington increases the consumption of electricity for road transportation, and given the large proportion of renewable energy in the Washington State electricity supply delivers considerable carbon savings.
The modelling also assumes more modest increases in the supply of alternatives to diesel fuel—biodiesel, renewable diesel and renewable natural gas for trucks. In 2028, an 11% carbon reduction is delivered compared to the baseline.
In the more aggressive Accelerated Progress scenario, marginal increases in the deployment and carbon performance of biodiesel, ethanol and renewable natural gas, plus additional credits from the use of renewable natural gas at the refinery, result in even larger emissions reductions: 13.1% by 2028.
The other two scenarios presented consider cases with more and less rapid increases in sales of electric vehicles in Washington State.
The four scenarios presented demonstrate that given moderate increases in alternative fuel supply and continued growth in electric vehicle sales, compliance could be readily achieved with a 10% carbon intensity reduction target for 2028 under a Clean Fuels Program for Washington State. The increasing size of the electric vehicle fleet makes total credit generation quite sensitive to assumptions about the rate of sales growth, and therefore it may be appropriate for a Washington State Clean Fuels Program to include a degree of flexibility for the administrator to adjust the stringency of requirements in response to realized electric vehicle sales.
—“Washington’s Clean Fuel Future”
The Washington state legislature is expected soon to consider a bill modeled on last year’s House Bill 2338 that would require petroleum refineries and fuel importers to reduce the average carbon intensity of the fuels they sell in Washington by 10% of 2017 levels by 2028.
Similar programs exist in California and Oregon. Refineries and fuel importers could reduce carbon intensity by either blending low-carbon biofuels into the gasoline or diesel they sell, or by purchasing credits generated by providers of lower-carbon fuels, including electricity, renewable diesel and renewable natural gas.
Transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions in Washington. The state needs to cut emissions by nearly 16 million metric tons per year to meet its 2035 carbon emissions limit. Washington is not on track to meet this goal. Governor Jay Inslee’s administration says the proposed clean fuels program would achieve nearly half of the emissions reductions needed in the transportation sector.
Washington generates 60% of its electricity from renewable sources, mostly from hydropower.
A clean fuels program would have the added benefit of generating credits that can put more electric vehicles on the road. If credits were used to fund a statewide rebate program, rebates could total $2,000 or more per car, according to the analysis. In 2017, there were 7,000 electric vehicles sold in the state.
Well, let's see... Washington consumed 324.8 TBTU of motor fuel in 2016. In the same year Washington consumed 74.2 TBTU of wind power, 100.7 TBTU of nuclear-electric power and a whopping 723.3 TBTU of hydropower. (Those appear to be un-adjusted units.)
If you could make a liquid motor fuel consisting of 50% biomass and 50% electricity by input energy, you could attain a full 50% GHG reduction in Washington using 81.2 TBTU of biomass and 81.2 TBTU of electricity. This would require about a 110% increase in Washington wind power and roughly 5 million dry tons of biomass @ 17.4 GJ/ton. The existing Washington biomass plants consume about 69 million tons of waste biomass per year. Conclusion: Aiming for a mere 12% is going for massive undershoot.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 11 January 2019 at 04:16 PM
You thought biomass was going no where years ago.
Posted by: SJC | 11 January 2019 at 10:54 PM
Biomass DID go nowhere. Despite having large biomass resources, Washington didn't even make the Nebraska list of ethanol producers because it doesn't raise corn. Nobody would even buy that ethanol if it wasn't mandated.
Turning Washington's forestry byproducts into motor fuel is going to take a very different approach, but it appears to have more than enough to do the job.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 12 January 2019 at 02:44 AM