UPS Says Natural Gas ’Game Changer’ for Cutting Emissions

cheryl

I started this.
Staff member
UPS Says Natural Gas ’Game Changer’ for Cutting Emissions - Bloomberg

United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS), the world’s largest package-delivery company, said it can save 40 percent in fuel costs by running its long-haul semi-tractor trailer fleet on natural gas instead of gasoline or diesel.

UPS is reducing gasoline and diesel use to cut emissions and operate more efficiently, Scott Wicker, the Atlanta-based company’s chief sustainability officer, said in an interview today. The company wants to reach 1 billion miles (1.62 billion kilometers) driven by alternative or advanced-technology vehicles by 2017, up from a previous target of around 400 million, it said today in its sustainability report.
 

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
About a decade ago we had a couple of package cars that ran on compressed natural gas. We got them because one of our biggest accounts, Intel, wanted "green" cars only delivering to its chip factories in Hillsoboro OR. So we got these cars, they were P-700's that ran on CNG instead of gasoline, but the problem was that they require special equipment to maintain that was never provided to our auto shop. The other drawback was that a CNG car takes about 10 minutes to refuel, which took place at an off site location. They could never keep these cars on the road consistently, so at one point they stuck "powered by compressed natural gas" stickers on the side of a couple of conventional gasoline-powered P-800's in order to look good for this account. Eventually the CNG cars went away.
 

1BROWNWRENCH

Amatuer Malthusian
Sounds so typical of automotive at UPS. Dump new equipment on the mechanics with out all the supplies, training and tools to keep the vehicle going on a daily basis. That all comes later when the inevitable happens.
 

rod

Retired 22 years
Speaking of natural gas I heard on the radio today that at the big oil boom that is going on right now in North Dakota they are burning off (i.e. wasting) over $100,000,000 dollars worth of natural gas every month because they don't have the infrastructure in place to make use of it. What a waste.
 
These tractors are just PR smoke and mirrors. They're being subsidized by the government, by the time the subsidize period is over they'll be paid for ultimately at no cost to ups, and they'll see such little use due to their limitations that the true effect towards any "green" will be moot.
 

brett636

Well-Known Member
Just got word that my hub will be getting two CNG pumps so it looks like we may get some tractors that run on it. Considering the vast difference in price of natural gas versus diesel or gasoline I can't say I blame them, but as already pointed out if they don't roll it out correctly it will end up being a waste of time and resources. Time will tell...
 

1BROWNWRENCH

Amatuer Malthusian
Speaking of natural gas I heard on the radio today that at the big oil boom that is going on right now in North Dakota they are burning off (i.e. wasting) over $100,000,000 dollars worth of natural gas every month because they don't have the infrastructure in place to make use of it. What a waste.

Could easily heat the entire state for the same time period with that.
 
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