- (Sacramento) --
Assemblyman
Brooks Firestone (R-Los Olivos) and
Senator Jack O’Connell
(D-Carpinteria), announced that the
California Energy Commission has approved
a contract with the Santa Barbara County
Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD)
to demonstrate the use of dual-fuel
engines in commuter buses.
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- The contract will be funded by a $150,000
grant from the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado.
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- Under terms of the contract, the SCBAPCD
will demonstrate four Caterpillar C10
dual fuel engines that run on both diesel
and compressed natural gas fuels in
commuter buses leased from the City of
Lompoc.
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- "Data generated from the
demonstration will be useful to
Caterpillar as it produces more refined
versions of the 350-horsepower
engine," said Senator
O’Connell. "The demonstration
in our own backyard hopes to fine tune
the dual fuel engines to meet the needs
of California medium-and heavy-duty
compressed natural gas vehicle
market."
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- "The agreement will advance the
state’s goal of expanding the use of
natural gas as a cleaner transportation
fuel," said Assemblyman Firestone.
"This demonstration is anotherplus
for Santa Barbara’s image as an
environmentally-conscious county."
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- Funds from NREL to the Energy Commission
will be included in the $1.8 million
total cost of the project. Other sponsors
include the City of Lompoc, Power Systems
Associate/Caterpillar, Melni Bus Company
and Southern California Gas Company.
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- For further information, contact:
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- Claudia Chandler, Assistant Executive
Director, California Energy Commission,
(916) 654-4989
- Jeff Carmondy, Project Manager, Santa
Barbara County Air Pollution Control
District, (805) 961-8884.
