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Part 2 of 2
BY ROB BARNETT
Energy Analyst Editor S ANFORD REB ACK Director, Energy
DEC. 7, 2012
www.bgov.com
FOREWORD
Oil's grip on the transportation sector is apparent; it accounts for more than 90 percent of the fuel consumed by cars, trucks and airplanes. This near-monopoly, combined with oil prices that are about five times higher than the average price recorded during the 1990s, has generated interest in finding alternative ways to fuel transportation. Transportation Energy Use Within the U.S.
Biomass 4% Electricity 0.2%
Natural Gas 3%
All Other Transport 42% Light Duty Vehicles 58% Oil 93%
Supply
* Includes freight trucking, rail, air, etc. Source: Energy Information Administration and Bloomberg Government
Demand
Bloomberg Government has explored the role that passenger compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles could play in displacing oil as a transportation fuel. Light-duty vehicles, essentially passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans, consume about 60 percent of the energy used for transportation. A growing chorus of industry officials and members of Congress has been advocating the use of CNG for passenger vehicles (and liquefied natural gas for trucking) as an alternative to oil. This is a two-part series: Hurdles to Adoption (Part 1) This report assesses the economics of CNG cars and light trucks compared with conventional gasoline vehicles. It also explores the infrastructure requirements of CNG adoption. Impact on Gasoline Demand (Part 2) The report examines the potential market size for passenger CNG vehicles and assesses the impact that CNG vehicles could have on gasoline demand.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page
Foreword ................................................................................................................ 2 Executive Summary ............................................................................................... 4 Section 1: Lessons Learned from Hybrid Vehicles ............................................. 5 Section 2: What If CNG Vehicles Were Twice as Successful as Hybrids? ........ 7 Section 3: CNG Vehicle Impact on Gasoline Demand ......................................... 8 Thinking About Transportation in Generational Terms ...................................... 9 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 11 About the Analyst ................................................................................................ 11 Appendix: Light-Duty Vehicle Fleet Model Documentation .............................. 12 Endnotes .............................................................................................................. 23
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
BACKGROUND
Compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles have the potential to reduce U.S. gasoline demand and greenhouse gas emissions.
Compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles probably won't significantly decrease U.S. oil demand for decades. Even if CNG vehicles prove more popular than hybrids, there are almost 250 million cars and light trucks on the road in the U.S., and it takes many years to turn over the existing vehicle stock. This Bloomberg Government Study finds: If CNG vehicles were to climb to 5 percent of new car sales by 2025 an optimistic scenario gasoline demand would be reduced only by about 1.5 percent in 2025 compared with what it otherwise would have been. Impact of CNG on Gasoline Demand
Million Barrels per Day History CAFE + RFS 10 9 CAFE Only BGOV "Bullish" CNG*
MARKET SHARE
It will probably take decades for CNG vehicles to gain even a modest foothold in the U.S. Hybrid vehicles, the best-selling alternative vehicle to date, have been on the market since 2000. They constituted only 2.3 percent of new cars and trucks sold in 2011.
IMPACT
Even if CNG vehicles were 5 percent of vehicles sales by 2025, demand for gasoline would be only about 1.5 percent lower that year than it otherwise would have been. Several years after 2025, the impact of CNG vehicles could be more substantial. CNG could displace up to 12 billion gallons of petroleum-based gasoline a year by 2035, assuming very optimistic sales projections.
* BGOV "Bullish CNG Scenario" includes meeting CAFE and RFS requirements Source: Bloomberg Government and EIA
After 2025, CNG's impact could be more pronounced; petroleum-based gasoline demand could fall by almost 775,000 barrels per day by 2035, a reduction of about 10 percent compared with current demand. A long-term commitment to CNG vehicles from policy makers and consumers would be required to significantly reduce U.S. dependence on gasoline and diesel fuel. This study, the second of two parts, assesses the market for CNG vehicles and estimates the potential impact on gasoline demand. To conduct this analysis, Bloomberg Government developed a consumer automobile fleet model that forecasts fuel demand based on a variety of assumptions.
Source: Bloomberg Government and Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center
Despite having a phenomenal growth rate, hybrid vehicle sales peaked at only 2.8 percent of all cars and light trucks sold in 2009; they made up 2.3 percent of vehicles sales in 2011.6 Figure 2 displays the percentage of hybrid car sales and illustrates the difficulty of transforming the U.S. automotive sector. It can take years to scale new vehicle technology. Because hybrids, unlike CNG vehicles, take advantage of existing U.S. oil and gasoline refueling infrastructure, it seems unlikely that CNG vehicles could replicate hybrids' adoption rate.
2.5%
2.0%
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
0.0% 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Source: Bloomberg Government and Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0% 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Source: Bloomberg Government
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
* BGOV "Bullish CNG Scenario" Includes Meeting CAFE and RFS Requirements Note: About 10 percent of U.S. "gasoline" is currently composed of ethanol; the charts and figures shown in this section specifically show the petroleum-based component of gasoline. Source: Bloomberg Government (Projection) and Energy Information Administration (History)
According to the model, CAFE and RFS are much bigger drivers of the decline in gasoline demand than the adoption of CNG vehicles is. The assumption that CNG vehicle sales reach 5 percent of total light-duty vehicles sales by 2025 only reduces petroleum-demand about 1.5 percent more than simply meeting fuel economy and biofuel requirements.
8 BGOV Study Compressed Natural Gas: Impact on Gasoline Demand
These estimates assume that both the 2017-2025 CAFE requirements and the 36 billion gallon RFS are fully met, which at this time seems unlikely to occur. Falling short on either of these targets means that the adoption of CNG vehicles would have a larger proportional impact on gasoline demand. The limited impact of CNG vehicle adoption is primarily related to how long it takes to transform the U.S. vehicle stock. There are about 250 million cars and light trucks on the road today. Even with CNG vehicles reaching 5 percent of sales, or about 800,000 vehicles, in 2025, it still would take a long time for CNG vehicles to make up an appreciable share of the overall U.S. automobile fleet. (See Figure 5.) Under the "Bullish CNG Scenario," CNG vehicles would constitute only about 1.5 percent of light-duty vehicles on the road in 2025. Figure 5: CNG Vehicles vs. Cars and Light Trucks
Million Cars on the Road CNG Cars and Light Trucks 300 Light Trucks Cars
250
200
150
100
50
0 1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
If Bloomberg Government extends the scenario to 2035, things start to look somewhat different. (See Figure 6.) By 2035, CNG vehicles could help to displace about 775,000 barrels per day, or about 12 billion gallons per year, of petroleum-based gasoline a decline of about 10 percent compared with current levels. This assumes that CNG vehicle sales continue to grow through 2030; the estimate shown in Figure 6 has CNG vehicles reaching 30 percent of total light-duty vehicle sales in 2030 and then holding steady at 30 percent from 2031 to 2035. Figure 6: Impact on Gasoline Demand
Million barrels per day History 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 CAFE Only CAFE + RFS BGOV "Bullish" CNG*
* BGOV "Bullish CNG Scenario" Includes Meeting CAFE and RFS Requirements Source: Bloomberg Government (Projections) and Energy Information Administration (History)
CONCLUSION
Natural gas has many benefits: it is a plentiful domestic resource, it is cheap relative to gasoline, and it has lower emissions than gasoline or diesel fuel. Yet natural gas is unlikely to be a panacea for reducing U.S. reliance on oil and gasoline. The scenario in this study a very optimistic one in terms of CNG vehicle adoption concludes that U.S. petroleum-based gasoline demand doesn't dip below 1970 levels until 2035. A long-term commitment to alternative transportation options would be required to transform the U.S. automobile fleet and have a real impact on fuel demand. Policy makers have to think in generational terms if they want to move the needle on U.S. oil and gasoline reliance. Natural gas has the potential to be more transformative in the trucking sector. Longhaul trucks are driven many more miles each year and consequentially are upgraded and replaced more often than consumer vehicles. In this context, there may be greater potential for natural gas to displace demand for diesel fuel.
Policy Assumptions
MPG
Macroeconomic Assumptions
New
Vehicle Sales
Consumer Preferences
Sales
Output
Fuel
Demand
Split Between Cars / Light Trucks / CNG Miles Traveled per Vehicle
300
250
200
150
100
50
0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2030
2035
History: Cars 60
Forecast: Cars
50
40
30
20
10
0 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035
The inclusion of biofuels somewhat complicates the estimate of gasoline demand. Today, ethanol accounts for about 10 percent of the motor gasoline sold in the U.S. with the remaining 90 percent derived from petroleum. Bloomberg Government chose to make two separate estimates: one in which blended ethanol accounts for 10 percent of gasoline and one in which the RFS212 is met (see Figure 18). Meeting the RFS2 makes a big difference in terms of the petroleum-based component of gasoline demand. Figure 18: Gasoline Demand Forecast with 10 Percent Ethanol Blend
Million barrels per day History 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1970 CAFE Only CAFE + RFS BGOV "Bullish CNG Scneario"
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
2025
2030
2035
ENDNOTES
U.S. Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center, U.S. Hybrid Electric Vehicle Sales by Model: www.afdc.energy.gov/data/tab/vehicles/data_set/10301 (retrieved Oct. 23, 2012).
2
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Light-Duty Vehicles Sold in the U.S. (See Table 6): www.bea.gov/national/xls/gap_hist.xls (retrieved October 23, 2012).
3 4
Ibid.
Between 2002 and 2011, 1.07 million Prius automobiles were sold in the U.S. U.S. Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center, U.S. Hybrid Electric Vehicle Sales by Model: www.afdc.energy.gov/data/tab/vehicles/data_set/10301 (retrieved Oct. 23, 2012).
5 6
Ibid.
U.S. Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center, U.S. Hybrid Electric Vehicle Sales by Model: www.afdc.energy.gov/data/tab/vehicles/data_set/10301 (retrieved Oct. 23, 2012). Bureau of Economic Analysis, Light-Duty Vehicles Sold in the U.S. (See Table 6): www.bea.gov/national/xls/gap_hist.xls (retrieved Oct. 23, 2012).
7
Honda Civic, Compressed Natural Gas Product Page: http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-natural-gas/ (retrieved Oct. 23, 2012). "Ram to Build North Americas Only OEM Compressed Natural Gas -powered Pickup," Chrysler press release, March 6, 2012. http://media.chrysler.com/newsrelease.do?id=12067&mid=71 (retrieved Oct. 23, 2012).
8
"Honda has sold nearly 1,600 natural gas-powered Civics this year, more than 20 percent above 2011 levels. "Honda Offers Free Natural Gas to Spur Civic Natural Gas Car Sales, The Detroit News, Oct. 9, 2012: www.detroitnews.com/article/20121009/AUTO0104/210090427 (retrieved Oct. 23, 2012).
9
"Production Begins for Ram 2500 Compressed Natural Gas Truck; Availability Expanded to Retail Customers." Chrysler Press Release, October 30, 2012: http://media.chrysler.com/newsrelease.do?id=13411&mid=69 (retrieved November 30, 2012).
10
When considering gasoline and blended ethanol, as opposed to petroleum-based gasoline, peak demand occurred in 2007 as opposed to 2005. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review, Petroleum Consumption Estimates: Transportation Sector, 1949-2011 (Table 5.13c). www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/showtext.cfm?t=ptb0513c (retrieved Oct. 23, 2012).
11
Projections of the Population and Components of Change for the United States: 2010 to 2050 Low Net International Migration Series (NP2009-T1-L), US Census. www.census.gov/population/www/projections/files/nation/summary/NP2009-T1-L.csv (retrieved Oct. 23, 2012).
12
"RFS2" refers to the expanded 36 billion gallon per year transportation biofuel requirement included in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Information on the requirement can be found on EPA's website: www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/index.htm (retrieved Oct. 23, 2012).