American Gas - February 2013 - (Page 11)

digest TOTE that Barge: Sailing soon from San Diego, the largest LNG-powered containership in the world. tion can be completed and the project becomes operational. The new liquefaction facility will be comprised of three liquefaction trains with a total export capability of 12 million tonnes per annum of LNG, or approximately 1.7 Bcf per day. The facility is expected to begin delivering LNG to international markets in 2017. —GJ Italy’s Smart Move The Boot promotes advanced metering E lectric utilities in Italy have achieved nearly 100 percent penetration for advanced metering infrastructure. Now gas utilities are rapidly deploying similar technology, placing Italy among the most mature markets for gas smart meters. The meters are being rolled out to meet regulatory requirements of AEEG, Italy’s electric and gas authority. The goal is to help consumers improve energy efficiency and to leverage investments by multi-energy utilities in smart-meter technology. Italian utilities will replace 18 million traditional gas meters with smart meters in the next three years. They’re aiming for 60 percent saturation this year and 80 percent to 100 percent by 2016. AEEG will charge utilities €4 for every residential meter and €54 for every industrial meter that falls short of those goals, according to eMeter, a Siemens business. Some meters are being installed by distribution system operators, but most deployments are outsourced to meter suppliers, Régis Hourdouillie, director of smart grids for Ericsson, told American Gas. An example is Italgas, Italy’s largest utility, with 5.9 million customers and 30 percent of the gas market. Italgas is relying on the global tech company Itron to install its smart meters. Itron and Capgemini will manage meter reading and maintenance. Gas smart meters in Italy typically capture daily consumption rates for residential customers, and hourly consumption, hourly pressure, and temperature, and tariff information for commercial and industrial customers, Hourdouillie explained. Italy consumed 2,752 billion cubic feet of gas in 2011, making it Europe’s second-highest consumer behind the United Kingdom, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Italy meets 40 percent of its energy needs through natural gas, according to Energy Delta Institute, one of the highest shares among European Union countries. Worldwide, annual shipments of gas smart meters will increase from 22 million in 2012 to 33 million in 2020, according to Pike Research, for a compound annual growth rate of 5.5 percent. For residential meters, the annual increase in deployment will approach 35 percent. —ES need to know Pig Data Power-hogging data centers turning to biogas A pple gave a big boost to the biogas-powered fuel cell industry in November when it applied to double the size of its fuel cell installation at its data center in western North Carolina. The application came just weeks after the company tested its initial 4.8MW fuel cell installation there and is seen as a sign that the tech giant is pleased with its performance. It’s also part of a growing trend among tech giants to use the renewable energy source in their Continued from page 8 numbers for natural gas vehicle availability and cost. It also is fully customizable so that fleet managers can input the parameters that best describe the vehicles they use and how they use them. Access it at http://bit.ly/V2SHGF. Peake Fuel Solutions has developed a new diesel natural gas conversion kit that allows heavy-duty trucks to run on a mixture of diesel and up to 70 percent natural gas. When compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas are not available, trucks can run on pure diesel. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved the kit for engines in model years 2010-12 with power ratings of 400 to 600 horsepower. Peake estimates the kit will save truckers 20 cents per mile. Questar Fueling has signed an agreement to build, own, and operate a CNG fueling facility in Houston that will serve up to 200 natural gas-powered trucks operated by Swift Transportation and Central Freight Lines. These trucks are projected to use about 5 million gallons of natural gas per year. The facility will include a five-lane high-speed fueling station that also will be open to the public. Baker Hughes has converted its U.S. fleet of hydraulic fracturing units to bi-fuel pumps, replacing up to 65 percent of diesel fuel used with natural gas. The company—one of the world’s largest suppliers of oilfield services and technology—says the bi-fuel engines reduce emissions and are more efficient because they can run twice as long as those using only on-board diesel. Continued on page 12 february 2013 American Gas 11 http://www.bit.ly/V2SHGF

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - February 2013

American Gas - February 2013
Table of Contents
President’s Message
Subject Index
Supplanting Coal, Creating Jobs
Digest
Issues
Updates
Need to Know
By the Numbers
People and Places
Fill ‘er Up—in the Driveway
Europe
State House
City Hall
Wall Street
Elm Street
On the Docket
Profile: Philip B. Jones
Law
Jobs
Buyer’s Guide: Meters
Marketplace
Headway

American Gas - February 2013