Florida city ahead of the curve with alternative fuels
Hollywood, Fla., has had plenty of incentive to develop an alternative fuels fleet program. On top of the federal Clean Air Act amendments of 1990 and Energy Policy Act of 1992, Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles issued an executive order in 1995 making alternative fuels a priority issue.
As a result, Hollywood has become one of Florida’s leaders in converting fleet vehicles to alternative fuels, as well as in installation of a fueling infrastructure. Some 164 city vehicles have been converted to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) since the city’s CNG fueling station opened in May 1996.
Entities such as the Florida Energy Office and the South Florida Regional Planning Commission provided $500,000 to help pay for the vehicle conversion program. In addition to converting existing vehicles, the city must train mechanics and acquire new equipment.
A cooperative agreement with the state contractor for conversions, Clearwater-based Motorfuelers, has resulted in conversion of an average of two vehicles per week. Hollywood chose CNG because it is safer and cleaner burning than most alternative fuels. Additionally, financing programs for CNG were available, the auto industry has given extensive support to CNG, and a distribution infrastructure already was in place.
Safety was a key issue as well. CNG has a higher ignition temperature and more narrow flammability range than liquid petroleum gas. It also is lighter than air, so it will not pool on or near the ground. When accidentally released in an unconfined space, CNG quickly disperses into the atmosphere, away from the scene of the spill.
In 1993, North Miami-based People’s Gas agreed to help Hollywood construct a CNG pumping facility, a project that is being funded by a surcharge added onto each therm of CNG sold. In 1994, Hollywood began purchasing tools, equipment, conversion kits and fuel tanks for the project.
An intensive training program enabled the automotive mechanics assigned to fleet management to install, service and maintain the gaseous fuel injection conversion system. A contract to design the conversion and supply conversion components was awarded to Atlanta-based NGV Southeast. The first vehicle, a 1992 Chevy Caprice police sedan, was converted in March 1994, and conversions progressed rapidly through the summer of 1994.
By September 1994, fleet managers discovered that the mounting brackets for the CNG fuel cylinders were cracking the sheet metal floors of the vehicle trunks. The mechanics remedied this problem by attaching the brackets to the vehicle frame.
After clearing that hurdle, the city began to hear complaints about the effect the fuel cylinders were having on the performance and handling of the police vehicles. Therefore, the tank size was reduced, and the rear suspension was modified with springs and shock absorbers that normally would only have been found on Caprice station wagons.
As with any new technology, problems have been encountered with electronic components, onboard computers and the myriad wires and connections required to make the conversion viable. Each of these problems has been overcome by the Fleet Management Division’s automotive mechanics with technical support from contractors and manufacturers.
In addition to its 164 converted CNG vehicles, Hollywood now has 11 dedicated CNG vehicles, the first of which went into service last spring. The city will continue to purchase factory-built vehicles because they generally have better warranties, are easier to buy parts for and do not need aftermarket modifications, says acting fleet management superintendent Wayne Gould.
As a result of CNG use and the performance of scheduled maintenance, gasoline consumption for Hollywood’s fleet decreased by 9 percent by the end of fiscal year 1996. It increased 2 percent in 1997; however, this was largely because of a 5 percent increase in the number of new gasoline vehicles purchased, Gould says. The city hopes to eventually bring in revenue by marketing its CNG fueling facility to other public entities and the private sector.