Bridging Visions for the Future of Gas

Westport at GLOBE 2014 [Recap]

The role of gas in the future of 21st century energy systems around the world was highlighted at the GLOBE 2014 sustainability conference in Vancouver last week. 

Westport’s Vice President of Strategy Karen Hamberg joined leaders from other centers of innovation to present Westport’s vision for natural gas in transportation on a five member panel titled Natural Gas: The Transition Fuel. She was joined by panelists from the Canadian Gas Association (CGA), FortisBC, and Deloitte. Each presenter brought a different perspective and area of focus to the table, but there was much consensus on the unique advantages of gas to support and enable clean energy transitions.

John Walker, the President and CEO of FortisBC, a gas distribution company operating in British Columbia, started the panel remarking on the history of gas in BC and how the company’s investments in LNG facilities are today finding new uses and delivering value well beyond their original anticipated scope.

Westport Climbs On Board the West Coast Marine LNG Project

Natural gas may have good potential as a marine fuel in Canada, which is the focus of the West Coast Marine LNG Supply Chain Project. Westport is one of 17 organizations participating in the initiative, led by the Canadian Natural Gas Vehicle Alliance (CNGVA), which will examine the barriers to adopting liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel and give recommendations on how to overcome obstacles.

“We’re a B.C.-based company contributing our knowledge of the natural gas transportation industry and our expertise in cryogenic solutions,” said Laurence Lemay, Manager, Market Development. “Bringing the key industry stakeholders around the table is crucial in driving change – this is happening in our own backyard and we want to be part of it.”

Westport joins a wide cross-section of industry representatives participating in the $1.2 million project, including: Rolls-Royce, BC Ferries, Shell, FortisBC, the American Bureau of Shipping, the Government of Canada, the BC Ministry of Transportation and Port Metro Vancouver, among many others.

Alicia Milner, President of the CNGVA, says the West Coast is an ideal focus of the project with its extensive natural gas resource base and Port Metro Vancouver, Canada’s largest port and gateway to Asia-Pacific.

“The CNGVA recognized that our members would benefit greatly from closer collaboration with government and the marine sector to help create access for LNG to the marine market,” Milner said. “The project provided a natural fit with the natural gas vehicle industry’s strategic development and growth priorities.”

Stringent emission controls are scheduled for 2015-2016, meaning ships will no longer be able to use higher emission heavy fuel oil within 200 nautical miles of the coast. That means cleaner air.

Milner said that currently Transport Canada regulations don’t allow the use of LNG as a marine fuel, so it’s important to have Transport Canada’s Transportation Development Centre at the table as a project funder and participant.

Read more: http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1173657/west-coast-project-to-show-way-for-lng-use-in-canada-s-marine-sector

“It’s all coming together”: The emergence of natural gas as the transportation fuel of choice in Canada

There’s a growing interest in Canada about the opportunities of using natural gas as a cleaner, cheaper new way of powering transportation.

Last week, the British Columbia government hosted its first-ever international conference on liquefied natural gas (LNG). Westport’s VP of Business Development, Steve Anderson, was a panelist in the closing session which focused on LNG as a transportation fuel.

“It’s all coming together,” Anderson said. “In the past, the choice to go green was usually accompanied by an economic penalty – not anymore. Due to large discoveries of domestic supplies, natural gas is available at an attractive price, and will be for the foreseeable future, which means there is now a competitive price advantage in using it, along with the environmental benefits of reduced greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.

Doug Stout, vice president of energy solutions and external relations with FortisBC, says that internationally, natural gas has been more-widely adopted as a cost-effective, green solution.

“Worldwide, natural gas is already a conventional fuel choice, and innovative companies in Canada will discover its benefits,” Stout said. “Natural gas for transportation represents a transformative opportunity for reduced costs for operators and lowered emissions.”

B.C. isn’t the only province taking notice of natural gas: on March 6, SaskEnergy and the Saskatchewan Trucking Association will host a one-day workshop in Saskatoon to discuss both compressed natural gas (CNG) and LNG as future transportation fuel options.

“From a North American perspective, natural gas is really taking off as a transportation fuel,” says Deidre Donaldson Meyer, SaskEnergy director of business development. “The momentum is really significant and we felt that it was important for the businesses of Saskatchewan to understand what was happening in the North American market and be informed about it. The longer term prospect for the price of gas is stable, and it is really cost competitive compared to diesel.”

Along with a recent increase in public discussion about the future of natural gas in Canada, exciting developments are taking place in station infrastructure. Shell just announced plans to make LNG fuel accessible for its marine and heavy-duty on-road customers in North America by developing two new liquefaction units. These will form the basis of LNG transport corridors in the Great Lakes and Gulf Coast regions.

Shell Canada is also set to open its first truck stop LNG station in Calgary, with two more in Alberta to follow. Alberta-based Bison Transport is a lead customer for the Shell stations and Bison recently took delivery of 15LNG-fueled Peterbilt 386 trucks with Westport Innovations’ 15L engine and fuel system.

Bison Transport truck, powered by the Westport 15L engine and fuel system.

From transit buses to refuse trucks, trains to boats, the possibilities for natural gas in Canada are substantial, and the transportation industry is taking notice.

Natural Gas Vehicle Program Shifts Local Businesses to a Cleaner Transportation Fuel

On May 15, the government of British Columbia announced the Greenhouse Gas Regulation to promote the adoption of natural gas vehicles in the province. As a global leader in natural gas vehicle (NGV) engine technologies headquartered in BC, we realize this is not only an endorsement from our own government of the potential for NGVs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also in the shift towards cleaner burning fuels.

While BC is already home to several organizations with natural gas fleets - such as Vedder Transport and Waste Management, - this program may be the catalyst for more fleet conversions in the province. The program not only offers incentives to transportation fleets wishing to adopt natural gas, but it may also increase infrastructure whose current lack is a barrier to the greater adoption of NGVs.

This new incentive program, administered by FortisBC - gives businesses in the province a chance to capitalize on a domestic ‘home-grown’ fuel that the global marketplace is increasingly demanding. We look forward to seeing the roll-out of this Greenhouse Gas Reduction incentive program and to BC businesses enjoying the advantages of adopting natural gas as a transportation fuel.