Methanol Policy Forum 2012 - Washington D.C.
Session 3: Natural Gas and the Transportation Sector
Following our lunch session, our first panel of the afternoon was focused on the specific topic of natural gas use in the transportation sector. With advances in exploration and recovery technology, the U.S. is entering into a boon era for natural gas revocery and with that policy makers, academics and the business sector are all considering how best utilize this energy source in the cleanest and most responsible way possible.
A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently drew even greater attention to this issue, as researchers there analyzed the full spectrum of issues involved - including fueling infrastructure, consumer acceptance, emissions and, of course, cost - and came to the conclusion that methanol "is the liquid fuel that is most efficiently and inexpensively produced from natural gas."
This helped to fuel renewed interest in methanol at the federal level in the United States to once again employ methanol as an affordable alternative that would help the nation meet its energy goals. This panel focused on natural gas markets, and how methanol may play a major role in shaping those markets in the future. Panelists also took the time to compare natural gas vehicles and methanol vahicles side-by-side to offer attendees a clear understanding of the comparisons being made.
Panelist for this session included (click names for a copy of their presentation):
- Moderator: Anne Korin, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security
- Gal Luft, Co-Director, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security
- Peter Robertson, Senior Vice-President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, America's Natural Gas Alliance
- Vikram Rao, Executive Director, Research Triangle Energy Consortium
A Congressional outlook was offered by:
- Amit Ronen, Deputy Chief of Staff, Senator Cantwell (D-WA)
- Neil Brown, Senior Professional Staff Member, Senator Lugar (R-IN)
Pre-Conference Materials:
In advance of the conference, we also made available a number of resources to help inform attendees to promotoe more robust discussions wth our panels. We also wanted to make those materials available to you here.
Natural Gas and the Transportation Sector - With emerging technologies making natural gas more accessible than ever in North America markets, its potential role in the transportation sector is often debated on Capitol Hill by lawmakers and policy analysts. A recent report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology identified methanol as 'the liquid fuel that is most efficiently and inexpensively produced from natural gas.' With this in mind, there is a renewed interest on Capitol Hill for pursuing policy that supports wider adoption of methanol fuels.
Some materials that look at natural gas and methanol include: