Capital District                                                                                                April 18, 2008

Clean Communities

 

 

Capital District Clean Communities

March 20, 2008 Meeting

Meeting Notes

 

Attendance

Pat Boudreau, National Grid

Jen Ceponis, CDTC Staff

Greg Cuda, Saratoga Bridges

Lawrence D’Arco, NYSDEC

Dennis Dugan, CDTA

Linda Hardie, NYSERDA—Buffalo Office

Glenn Havens, Engine Control Systems

Kristina Hong, A/GFTC

Steve Iachetta, Albany County Airport Authority

Jon Ladd, Saratoga Bridges

Carl Mas, NYSERDA

Paul Patterson, City of Oneonta

Pete Rea, NYSDOT R-1

Joseph Rich, FHWA

Deborah Stacey, CDTC Staff, CDCC Coordinator

 

SUMMARY NOTES:  Carl Mas from NYSERDA was invited to provide a presentation entitled, “Ethanol/Biodiesel Challenges and Opportunities”.  The study, conducted by The Pace Energy project, reviews the real costs and benefits and energy balance associated with the production of bio-fuels, particularly ethanol.  The study was designed to:

t Analyze the range of current understanding

t Highlight sources of uncertainty and areas that need further research

t Develop tools to help evaluate impacts in a policy context

 

The final study should be available for download at the end of April.

 

Subsequent to Carl’s presentation, attention was then drawn to the next item on the agenda:

 

1.     CDTA 

a.      CDTA has been using B5 for four months with no issues or problems with performance.  One-third of the fleet will be outfitted with diesel retrofit equipment by the end of the year.

2.   Albany County Airport Authority: 

a.      The ACAA in a joint effort with CDTA received monies under NYSERDA PON 1082 to proceed with a hydrogen pilot project. ACAA will test two hybrid pick-up trucks and CDTA will test two HICE Ford Escapes.  The hydrogen fueling station will be placed on the ACAA’s site, with access permitted to CDTA .  A press event will be held in April to announce this two year pilot project to the public.

b.     The ACAA conducted field tests on their heavy duty diesel equipment.  The temperature data log indicates that the ACAA will be able to install Cummins Longview systems on 7 of the 14 vehicles to be retrofit.  The Longview technology reduces NOx, by 25% while simultaneously reducing PM by 85%, but requires minimum engine temperatures to be achieved. VALE II monies are funding this project.

3.    CDTC:

a.      The solicitation for the CMAQ diesel retrofit program was distributed to the Clean Communities coalition members, CDTC’s Planning Committee and to the County and Town departments of Public works.  Proposals are due on April 4th.  CDTC is aware of a few potential applicants but it is likely that there will be money left on the table for this round. 

b.     CDTC staff has been pursing Transportation Demand Management activities with the help of CDTA.  The Commuter Register, an on-line carpool matching and commuter information services is somewhat outdated.  CDTC staff with the aid of CDTA circulated a bid for proposals to convert the matching portion of the site to a GIS based system, that will not only identify carpool matches, but will also identify bus routes that can be taken in place of commuting by auto.  GreenRide was selected for the contract. The transition will occur within the next month or so.  In addition, the Commuter Register name will be converted to “ipool2” to be more in line with CDTA’s “iride” campaign.  CDTA will provide technical assistance to “brand” the new look and feel of the carpool site.

4.    NYSERDA:

a.      Project Opportunity Notice (PON) 1093 is open for applications until May.  This PON will pay for station upgrades for bio-diesel and ethanol.  NYSERDA has funded five projects, quite a few are in the works but NYSERDA would like to see more applications. 

b.     The second round for school bus retrofits (PON 992) should be released shortly.

5.   OTHER NEWS:

a.      National Grid: NGrid is looking for residential partners for a pilot program that would measure heat and electric usage and evaluate heating systems.

b.   City of Oneonta: The city’s police department has added electric carts to their fleet to monitor parking violations.   The city conducted a pilot program to save energy in schools and achieved a $100,000 savings from turning off lights and covering the heated pool.  The city has five interns working on environmental issues.  The city is concerned with the price of bio-diesel—the incremental cost is becoming so great that officials are questioning the benefits of using the fuel.

c.    Saratoga Bridges: Greg Cuda reported that Saratoga Bridges is using B5 in their entire fleet of 21 diesel vehicles.  So far, Saratoga Bridges has not experienced any mechanical issues associated with the B5 blend.  The B5 blend costs 37 cents more than regular diesel.

 

Next Meeting

 

This group will meet again on Thursday June 26, 2008 from 10:00 am to noon at CDTA's offices at the Rensselaer Rail Station.  After a short meeting, coalition members are invited to tour Sprague Energy’s Bio-diesel blending facility at the Port of Albany.