Diesel Prices (CONT’D FROM PAGE 26)
trucking industry from adopting electric vehicles,” said Bri- an Guinn, CEO of United Energy Corporation, a diversified oil, and gas producer based in Plano, TX. “One is a lack of a sufficient number of charging stations. Another is the fact that the heavier the load the fewer miles an electric truck can travel before charging is necessary.” Even if the requisite charging stations are built, using them can prove a costly disruption to truckers’ schedules. “These guys already spend more than three quarters of their lives on the road,” noted Guinn. “If they have to stop an additional two or three times on a typical trip, electric power will not be effective.” There is also a problem of range in those parts of the country subject to cold seasons. “The batteries have a tendency to degrade in their performance in cold weath- er,” said Ed Hirs, an energy fellow at University of Hous- ton. “And so, while it's reasonable to assume that electric trucks can shoulder the load in temperate regions such as California, Texas, Arizona, and all across the south, it's not so certain that they will do very well in the northern climates during the winter.” For all of these reasons, it seems that EVs are a viable option for truckers only if they are traveling relatively short distances and coming back to their home base to charge up. “We will see some city garbage trucks transition to electricity a lot sooner than we will over the road long haul vehicles,” said Guinn. CONTINUED ON PAGE 30
Sometimes called “green diesel,” renewable diesel is virtually chemically equivalent to petrodiesel. That makes it a so-called “drop-in” replacement for the fossil fuel, which means it can be dropped right into a truck’s tank without needing to be blended with its carbon-based twin. That is a significant advantage over biodiesel, an alter- native eco-friendly biomass based fuel that can only make up from 5 percent to 20 percent of a petrodiesel blend. Together, renewable diesel and biodiesel account for some 5 percent of U.S. diesel consumption. Renewable diesel production has recently surpassed that of biodiesel, and more growth is forecast. “A number of refineries have in the last three years an- nounced they were transitioning some of their traditional petroleum refining processing into renewable diesel,” said Schaeffer. “Many mainstream oil companies are putting their fin- gers into renewable diesel at some level, which will help boost growth.” At the federal level, tax credits are encour- aging producers to produce more renewable diesel. Diesel Vs Electricity Given the need to meet federal and state energy man- dates, the trucking sector is starting to pay more attention to the potential usage of renewable diesel as an alterna- tive to electricity. “There are several things preventing the long-haul
• Machinery selection • Plant layout • Project Management • Consulting
A true corrugated industry veteran with nearly 50 years’ experience, Richard Etra can help you with every aspect of box plant operation. Contact Richard today for a no-cost consultation: email: richard_etra@etracorrugatedsolutions.com ph: 917-647-9520
28
www.boardconvertingnews.com
December 4, 2023
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker