Why You Need an Integrated Energy Management Approach

  • Published on: Jun 30, 2020


The days of running on a single fuel source — specifically petroleum diesel — are nearly a thing of the past. Spurred by growing regulations and sustainability plans, fleets are increasingly turning to alternative fuels.  

Rather than thinking about a straight replacement, fleets should adopt an integrated energy management (IEM) approach — a comprehensive strategy that considers available fuel sources and adopts any and all options that best meet their needs. 

An IEM approach allows for a transition away from fossil fuels while taking into account the market readiness and affordability of various alternatives. This helps meet both short- and long-term business objectives and incorporates more types of cleaner energy sources to help achieve sustainability goals. Diversifying energy sources also reduces the risk of being dependent on any one fuel. 

 

Stand-out options

Biodiesel and renewable diesel are proven solutions for an integrated energy management approach, with fleets running millions of miles a year on these drop-in fuels. 

Compared with ULSD, biodiesel has greater Cetane and lubricity and meets stringent ASTM specs, while its cleaner burn leads to fewer issues with diesel particulate filters. Renewable diesel is covered by the same ASTM spec as petroleum diesel, but REG-produced renewable diesel has higher Cetane and lower sulfur content and aromatics. Biodiesel blends and renewable diesel are both drop-in solutions that work in existing diesel vehicles and fueling infrastructure with no modifications needed.
 
The fuels also bring significant sustainability advantages. Across the U.S. in 2019, 2.3 billion gallons of biodiesel and renewable diesel were consumed, which reduced carbon emissions by 18.2 million metric tons.1, 2
 
Fleets can get the best characteristics of biodiesel and renewable diesel when they’re blended together, which is a product we call REG Ultra Clean®. Users get higher Cetane, added lubricity and lower aromatics than ULSD, plus a great Cloud Point and no need for equipment modifications.
 

Then there are the environmental benefits. This blend can reduce particulate matter by over 40%, carbon monoxide by over 25%, total hydrocarbons by over 20% and nitrogen oxides by approximately 10% compared with ULSD.3

 

IEM in action

So what does integrated energy management look like in practice? Let’s use a fleet with 100 vehicles as an example. Say they can afford to convert five trucks to electric, and performance-wise it makes sense for those to be the ones making short-range hauls. They also buy five compressed natural gas trucks. Rather than keeping the other 90 on petroleum diesel, the fleet uses drop-in fuels like biodiesel blends and, in order to stretch its hard-to-get renewable diesel supply, REG Ultra Clean. Now 100% of the fleet is running on lower-carbon fuels. This is integrated energy management.
 
Learn more about how to implement an integrated energy management approach by contacting REG at (844) 405-0160 or  email us at connect@regi.com.
 
 
1 www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/mer.pdf Renewable diesel consumption estimated based on RIN generation data.
2 Carbon reduction based on life cycle analysis versus petroleum diesel using CA-GREET model when available and, when not, GHGenius.

3 For a blend of 80% renewable diesel and 20% biodiesel. Data based on California Air Resources Board assessments compared to federal ULSD.

 

 

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