Forget the "Pickens Plan" with the windmills, that was all bullshit. Using natural gas to fuel big-rigs has been the goal all along.
Well that and getting control of ground water supplies. More on that another time.
You'll see lots of stories about "clean diesel" but natgas is going to be a score.
CLNE is trading up 53 cents (3.78%) at $14.56.
Here's the EPA story via the New York Times:
New U.S. Standards Take Aim at Truck Emissions and Fuel Economy
David McNew/Getty ImagesA federal official said lower fuel costs would easily cover the costs to truckers to meet new fuel economy and emission rules.
The federal government announced the first national emissions and fuel economy standards for heavy vehicles on Monday, one of a series of regulatory steps that the Obama administration is taking to increase energy efficiency and reduce atmospheric pollution in the absence of Congressional action on climate change.
The administration also announced approval of a major solar power installation on public land in the California desert, a step toward weaning the nation from dependence on fossil fuels. Together they represent what President Obama has called a more “bite-size” approach to global warming that he intends to pursue while efforts to pass comprehensive legislation are stalled.
The mileage proposal, which is scheduled to become final next year after a period of public comment, will apply to tractor-trailers, buses, delivery vans, heavy pickup trucks, cement mixers and many other classes of vehicles. It will cover new vehicles manufactured between 2014 and 2018.
The proposed policy would apply different standards to different vehicles, based on weight and intended use. For example, over-the-road tractor-trailers would be required to achieve a 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by 2018. Heavy-duty pickups and vans would be subject to different gasoline and diesel fuel standards, with reductions ranging from 10 to 15 percent. Other work trucks would have to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent by 2018.
Lisa P. Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said that the new standards were an extension of the mileage and emissions rules that the administration had already adopted for passenger cars and light trucks. She said that lower fuel costs for truckers would more than cover the costs of the technology used to meet the new standards and would create jobs in truck manufacturing and related industries.
“Over all, this program will save $41 billion and much of it will stay home in the U.S. economy rather than paying for imported oil,” she said in a briefing.
The standards draw from a study issued this year by the National Academy of Sciences, which found that existing technology — including low-rolling-resistance tires, improved aerodynamics, more efficient engines, hybrid electric drive systems and idling controls — could cut fuel use in trucks by a third to a half.Here's The EPA's Transportation and Climate page.
The standards proposed by the administration, after extensive consultation with manufacturers and trucking companies and a detailed review by the White House Office of Management and Budget, are significantly less ambitious to keep costs manageable, officials said.
Heavy vehicles account for more than 10 percent of the nation’s overall oil consumption and about 20 percent of the greenhouse gases emitted by the transportation sector. Because fuel use by trucks and buses is growing faster than most other emissions that contribute to global warming, even relatively modest cuts in diesel consumption will pay large environmental benefits, Ms. Jackson said.
The new rules proposed by the E.P.A. and the Department of Transportation reflect the different patterns of use for varying types of trucks. Long-haul freightliners and buses typically travel 100,000 miles a year and can achieve large fuel savings with relatively small investments in technology. Fire trucks and cement mixers, on the other hand, travel relatively few miles annually and thus have a lower target....MORE
Here are some of the recent headlines for CLNE:
Oct. 5
Clean Energy to build natural gas fueling stations
Clean Energy to build and operate nationwide string of natural gas fueling stations for trucksOct. 5
UPDATE 1-Clean Energy strikes truck fueling facilities deal
* Deal with travel center operator Pilot Travel CentersThe original plan, as he stated at the American Renewable Energy Day Conference in Aspen last August was to have Harry Reid push through the Lame Duck a stripped down energy bill while Speaker Pelosi did the same in the house. The EPA action means Boone wins whether or not a bill passes.
* Says major truckers considering move to gas fleet
* Clean Energy stock up 3 pct pre-market
If you're interested here's the recording of the session with T. Boone and Ted Turner via Aspen Public Radio.
The Boone and Ted show (they've taken it on the road a few times) is pretty funny, in a billionaire sort of way.
We have had a lot of posts on CLNE:
Oct. 17
Why Clean Energy Fuels Should Benefit From a Lame Duck Congress
Aug. 12
T. Boone Pickens No Score: Clean Energy Fuels Settling Back While Call Buyers Proliferate (CLNE)
This one should be a natural for me to follow. It is as much an example of Political Capitalism as it is a business, and seeing that I hang out at the intersection of money and politics it should be a case study.Jul 30, 2010
Instead I am bored by Boone and his machinations....
Analysis: Pickens must wait for payday on energy bill (CLNE)
July 29
Senate Gives Natural Gas Transportation Some Lovin', Pickens, Pelosi Score (CLNE)
Jul 23, 2010
"Boone Pickens unceremoniously drops wind from his energy plan"
April 12
Clean Energy Fuels Inc. "T. Boone Pickens' Gassy Stock" (CLNE)
We've been amused/bemused by CLNE and the strange bedfellows it has attracted as investors.
The stock is down 5.7% at $20.78 in early trade....
Previously:
A Bullish Bet on Clean Energy Fuels: Is Nancy Pelosi a Better Derivatives Trader than Hillary Clinton? (CLNE)
No.
If you recall, the Secretary of State ran a grand to $100,000 in a ten month period, October 1978 to July 1979. Newsweek had the best quote: "This is like buying ice skates one day and entering the Olympics a day later," 'says Mark Powers, editor of the Journal of Futures Markets. "She took some extraordinary risks."
The Speaker on the other hand bought her stake in CLNE on the IPO at $12.00, in May 2007.
The stock traded up twenty cents yesterday but was recently at $11.96, down twelve cents on the day and four pennies below the IPO price.
Oh well, maybe this is her trade...
Jim Cramer, Nancy Pelosi and T. Boone Pickens Walk Into a Bar (CLNE)
Nancy Pelosi, Al Gore and T. Boone Pickens Walk Into a Bar (CLNE)T. Boone Pickens: Greenwashing and Rentseeking (CLNE)
T. Boone Pickens has Wind and Gas (CLNE)
*See also (roughly in chronological order, starting in October 2007):
Texas electricity market lures big investors
T. Boone Pickens BP Capital Management SEC Filing
Al Gore Did Not Invent the Internet Porn!
Pickens sees oil, natural gas prices falling
T. Boone Pickens on His Oil & Gas Short
T. Boone Pickens and BP Capital Management 13F filed 14Feb08
T.Boone Pickens BP Capital Management 13F Analysis
Pickens's BP Capital Energy Fund Fell 14% This Year
Pickens "Made Mistake Shorting Energy", Sees $100 Oil Through 2008
Boone Pickens: ‘I Missed’
$125 Barrel Oil: T. Boone Pickens
Pickens' Mesa Power orders GE wind turbines
T. Boone Pickens: Oil Going to $150, So Move to Gas
T. Boone Pickens has Wind and Gas (CLNE)
Hedge Funds Cut Oil Bets as Prices Rose, CFTC Probed. And: Pickens Says CFTC Probe of Oil a `Waste of Time'
Cost Estimates of T. Boone’s Colossal Wind Farm Keep Rising
T. Boone Pickens on CNBC: Use Wind for Gas, Gas for Oil
T. Boone Pickens Gets Hammered From the Left and the Right (Coasts)
