Clean-diesel school buses, other vehicles could get grants in revised energy bill

Diesel Fuel News, Jan 20, 2003 by Jack Peckham

Parts of an omnibus energy bill that died when U.S. Congress adjourned last year have been revived in a new bill sponsored by Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.), who chairs the House Science Committee.

Boehlert's first attempt to include subsidies for "clean" school buses (see Diesel Fuel News 4/30/01, p1) excluded any clean-diesel technology, favoring costly alternatives such as compressed natural gas (CNG), fuel cells or electricity.

But his bill was later amended in the U.S. House-passed energy bill ("HR 4, SAFE Act"--see Diesel Fuel News 8/6/02, p3) to allow clean-diesel buses (running on 15-ppm sulfur ULSD) to qualify for up to 25% ($75 million) of $300 million for "clean-green school buses." The other 75% would go for CNG or electric school buses.

Now, Boehlert's second attempt (HR 238) repeats the same 25% clean-diesel language that passed in "HR 4" last year. It likewise requires 15-ppm Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), along with diesel particulate filters (DPFs) and EPA-mandated limits on nitrogen oxides (NOx) of 3 grams/brake-horsepower-hour in model-year 2003, and 2.5 g/bhp-hr NOx from 2004, unless "best available" clean-diesel technology can beat that NOx limit.

Besides the $300 million in school-bus grants, the bill also would allow up to $20 million in grants to other "alternative fuel" buses, delivery vehicles, cars or airport ground support vehicles, as well as "acquisition of [unspecified] ultra-low sulfur diesel vehicles."

The bill also authorizes up to $200 million for coal-gasification or similar clean-coal projects including integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), "gasification coproduction" and "gasification fuel cells." Since gas-to-liquids (GTL) fuels and chemicals "coproduction" were included in prior U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored R&D, some coalgasification projects potentially could be combined with production of GTL ULSD (see story, p7).

The clean-coal projects must, by 2020, achieve 99% sulfur dioxide (SOx) removal, a limit of 0.05 pounds of NOx per million Bin produced, and a thermal efficiency of between 57-60%, depending upon coal Btu content.

The bill also would provide DOE loan guarantees for an IGCC coal-electric plant that "produces power at competitive rates in deregulated energy generation markets and that does not receive any subsidy (direct or indirect) from ratepayers."

DOE also could give loan guarantees for "at least one petroleum coke gasification polygeneration project," possibly aiding the development of coke-gasification to clean fuels.

The bill also requires DOE to focus future R&D on:

# "Reducing the cost of producing transportation fuels from coal and natural gas, and indirect liquefaction of coal and biomass;"

# "Combustion and after-treatment technologies for use in direct-injected gasoline and diesel fueled motor vehicles."