There has been a lot of talk recently about electric vehicles and how they will be a part of our near future. Whether you’ve heard about Biden’s plans to invest $2 Trillion in infrastructure or fell for Volkswagen’s clever April fools joke where they renamed themselves “Voltswagen.” As fleets still are considering Electric, they often are grappling with the idea of which is better? Renewable Natural Gas (or RNG) or Electric? RNG is a replacement for Natural Gas that harnesses the energy of biogas produced from natural decomposition. While renewable natural gas sounds green-friendly, we will explain how it works and if it has a place as a future vehicle fuel.
Many fleets have already taken significant steps to decrease their emissions by using alternative fuels such as CNG or propane. Like these fuels, RNG is compressed to allow vehicle fueling with an added reduction in total emissions. Fleets comfortable with operating CNG vehicles will find it easy to transfer due to a similar fueling and infrastructure setup. On the other hand, electric vehicles will often require new infrastructure but have added benefits on the cost side and zero emissions from the tailpipe. To compare these fuels correctly, we will dive into the benefits of each from both an environmental and operational perspective.
Carbon Reduction
Methane currently makes up 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to our climate problem. While this figure seems small compared to our Co2 emissions, methane pound for pound has a 25 times greater impact on our environment over 100 years compared to Co2. The majority of methane produced comes from livestock, landfills, and the burning of coal or natural gas. This is where renewable natural gas takes the spotlight. RNG is produced by separating methane from raw biomass through the process of natural decomposition of organic wastes. By capturing these emissions before they enter the atmosphere and repurposing them, we can lower the impact of methane on the environment.
But how does this compare to electricity to power our transportation sector?
Energy Sources
There are two main sources of methane that we could harness to produce RNG. Biogenic methane comes from landfills, manure, and wastewater. It is already being used as biogas from these sources as a form of combustible energy. Another potential source for RNG is power-to-gas, which uses carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and electricity to make the fuel. But this process is not currently being used.
Experts project that we could turn the total amount of organic waste available into RNG to replace 16% of diesel fuels and only 1% of the CNG being used. RNG simply lacks the supply capacity to be used as an industry-wide application where fleet operators will benefit from a cost reduction. We are already fighting actively to reduce methane emissions from these sources overall, and RNG adoption would, in theory, increase demand for methane-producing sources, counteracting the benefits.
Operational Costs
Routine maintenance is one of many drawbacks of using a combustion engine to fuel your vehicle. Electric vehicles benefit from the simplicity of their parts with added efficiency and less routine maintenance. Instead of frequent brake jobs, oil changes, and part failures, you can enjoy push updates from the and regenerative braking that will triple your brake’s life. RNG vehicles will still require the expensive and time-consuming maintenance of a combustion engine but will still help our environment more than an actual ICE.
Fleet owners must also prepare to take on the maintenance costs to operate their fueling station. One site fuel is necessary for most fleets, and facilities must be upgraded to support the safety regulations of using compressed fuel. Increases in your fleet size will also require upgrades to your fueling station to accommodate the new scale. Routine maintenance is still necessary to ensure a safe operation like replacing compressors, which fail more often than traditional fuel stations.
Infrastructure
A common problem when introducing any new fuel is the availability of infrastructure. Currently, little to no RNG infrastructure exists, requiring significant investments to install the proper equipment and create pipelines to make the fuel accessible. CNG pipelines could be used to transport RNG, but only if there is enough supply to replace it entirely. The growth of electric vehicles has lead to massive leaps in installing new infrastructure. Local utilities have already placed their bets on electric vehicles, offering many commercial and residential customers incentives to adopt EVs. This includes but is not limited to EV charger rebate programs, reduced electricity rates for EV charging stations, and funding to cover infrastructure construction costs. Biden’s new economic plan includes incentives for buyers and a promise to install nearly half a million charging stations by 2030.
For RNG to meet the infrastructure requirements to be used at scale, it will need massive investment like EVs. While some utility companies have begun offering it to their clients, they still project that it can only replace up to 1% of the current CNG supply. This may have inadvertent consequences for its buyers, who may experience volatile pricing that will affect their operating costs due to such a short supply. Introducing electricity to produce RNG at a larger scale will only make it more expensive and less efficient. It’s silly to plug into a manufacturing plant to produce more RNG than just plug in our fleet vehicles and start saving on fuel and maintenance.
Conclusion
To become genuinely zero-emission, we must not get distracted from working towards the real goal. While RNG does have some environmental benefits, it is unlikely it has a long-term place in our system. RNG infrastructure and supply are both well behind that of electric vehicles. Fleet owners are unable to benefit from the savings in maintenance and fuel costs of electric vehicles. Factory farming is still a massive contributor to our carbon footprint, and investing in infrastructure to use their waste as energy is only putting a bandaid on the real problem. Electric vehicles are an efficient and cost-reducing solution with new infrastructure being added constantly. By taking part and adopting EVs ourselves, we can encourage future infrastructure projects and sustainable energy for all.