County of Vermilion River Fuel Switching Project - Diesel to CNG from Recovered Gas

The County of Vermilion River (CVR) will conduct a study to gauge the feasibility of producing compressed natural gas (CNG) to fuel its municipal fleet and sell to private users in a currently underserved community. The CVR is located in a petroleum-producing region with considerable natural gas flaring and venting associated with heavy oil production. There has historically been no cost-effective alternatives to flaring and venting this ”associated gas” due to a lack of year-round demand for CNG. Through fleet conversion and the opening of a local market, the CVR expect to provide demand stability, reduce GHGs, generate savings and profit, and encourage private vehicle conversion. In 2017, the CVR piloted a successful conversion of two light trucks along with the purchase of a time-fill CNG compressor. The proposed initiative will build upon this success by assessing the broader interconnection with sources of associated gas and gas recovery, gas cleanup and compression infrastructure requirements, CNG storage and fuelling stations, and CVR fleet conversion. Identification and engagement of key stakeholders including potential petroleum producing partners and third party purchasers will lead to defining the criteria for technical, economic, operational, and environmental success. Conversion from diesel to CNG typically reduces GHG emissions by 11-22%. In this case, the source of the CNG is from vented/flared methane and therefore, the reductions are even more significant. Conversion of the remaining municipal fleet which includes 70 light/medium duty vehicles, 8 heavy duty trucks, 23 motor graders, and 2 agricultural-style tractors, would result in a reduction of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the life of the project. The County has identified the reutilization of waste gas as a key objective to meet its sustainability and GHG reduction goals as outlined in the CVR Strategic Plan (2014). The study will provide a model for evaluating the economic viability of a project from the point of view of each party in the value chain. Technical learning will be valuable for other communities in oil and gas producing regions as well as partially to landfill gas capture projects throughout the country. Lessons learned regarding vehicle fleet operations on CNG will apply to all municipalities that are considering fuel switching. (Project description from original funding application)