GTI, AGA and other partners are promoting natural gas for standby and emergency generators
A new tool will help engineers and customers compare the total cost of ownership for diesel and natural gas standby power, thanks to the efforts of the Gas Technology Institute, American Gas Association members and market players working to ensure natural gas service reliability in the event of an emergency.
According to GTI, the total cost of ownership, or TCO, calculator allows users to develop a general analysis using valid default values. Users may also enter specific data for costs, energy pricing and operation to create a more targeted assessment. The online tool is available at www.generatorTCO.com.
“Although diesel generators have been the traditional choice for emergency standby power, natural gas systems are gaining market share due to recent technical advances, low fuel costs and emission regulations,” Patricia Rowley, senior engineer in GTI’s Energy Delivery & Utilization group, told American Gas. “In addition, recent extreme weather events have highlighted the resilience of the natural gas supply.”
The tool also has other capabilities. Natural gas standby generators can be used for demand response applications, and the TCO tool can estimate those economic benefits, too, with or without incentives. The tool is also designed to calculate full-fuel-cycle emissions for natural gas generators compared to diesel, working in conjunction with the Source Energy and Emission Analysis Tool, also developed by GTI.
GTI worked with Generac Power Systems Inc., a major generator manufacturer, to create the TCO tool. It also provides technical content for Generac’s public website, the Natural Gas Knowledge Center (www.natgasgen.com). Along with general information on natural gas reliability, the website includes concise and easy-to-access supporting data on the advantages of natural gas-fueled standby generators. In addition to several recent studies, the website includes economic calculators, applicable codes and multiple case studies, and is always being updated, Rowley said.
Based on GTI’s research and other data, natural gas generators can be a cost-effective option for standby power generation while reducing full-fuel-cycle emissions, she added.
“Due to the inherent resilience of the natural gas infrastructure, natural gas generators can improve the reliability of emergency standby power generation,” she said.