LETTER: LNG a made-in-America solution

LETTER: LNG a made-in-America solution Two views expressed in your article regarding the Port of Long Beach ordering additional LNG trucks require rebuttal (Long Beach port orders more LNG trucks).
   First you take issue with fueling infrastructure for LNG trucks. The fueling infrastructure for LNG trucks is rapidly expanding throughout Southern California, not just near the ports. Soon the infrastructure will be sufficient to support a robust regional trucking market throughout Southern California and beyond.
   To ensure a reliable supply of LNG, Clean Energy is constructing an LNG production plant in the Mojave Desert to complement other existing supplies. This plant will initially produce 160,000 gallons per day beginning later this year and will be expanded to 240,000 gallons per day next year. The plant has a 1.5 million gallon storage tank. A second new LNG plant located near Ehrenberg, Ariz., will be operational this year and produce 45,000 gallons of LNG per day. There will be ample supplies of cheap, made-in-America fuel and fueling stations for the next generation of American trucking.
   Secondly, your views are simply wrong regarding the air quality benefits of LNG trucks. Natural gas engines are the cleanest engines on the market, period. Consider these facts. There is only one heavy-duty engine that is certified to the 2010 EPA emission standards — a natural gas engine. Natural gas engines reduce NOx by 33 percent to 83 percent compared to a 2008 diesel truck according to EPA and the California Air Resources Board. According to CARB, diesel particulate matter (PM) is classified as a toxic air contaminant. According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, more than 80 percent of the airborne cancer risk in Southern California is due to diesel emissions. Finally, as reported to the California Energy Commission and other authoritative sources, natural gas trucks reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20 percent compared to a new diesel truck. This is really a common-sense issue: would you cook with diesel fuel or natural gas in your backyard barbeque?
   Missing from your commentary is America's addiction to imported oil. Truckers are spending nearly $5 per gallon for diesel fuel made from imported oil. America spends $700 billion per year importing this oil. Our economy cannot sustain this massive export of our wealth. It is time we take action to secure America's future. Natural gas is made in America and is abundant.

Greg Roche
director of business development (ports and terminals),
Clean Energy