Lifecycle assessment of Blue Fuel methanol with GHGenius

In March 2010 (S&T)2 Consultants (Don O’Connor) conducted a lifecycle assessment of Blue Fuel methanol using the GHGenius model. To a table in a Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources’ information bulletin (RLCF-002) providing data on expected volumes, energy density, and carbon intensity for each fuel in the BC fuels mix Blue Fuel Energy has added corresponding values for wind power-based and natural gas-based methanol, along with the values for methanol if it were produced using average electricity from the BC grid.

Conclusions

From this data the following conclusions can be drawn:

1. Methanol from any source is a lower carbon intensity fuel than gasoline.


2. Wind power-based methanol provides an 84% reduction in carbon intensity vs. gasoline.


3. Methanol produced using average power from the BC grid provides a 65% reduction in carbon intensity vs. gasoline.

Advantages

There are major advantages for BC in considering wind power- or grid-based methanol as a major component of the BC fuel mix:

1. Gasoline/methanol blends have already been utilized commercially at low (5 –10%) and high (M85) blend rates, and methanol has been used as a 100% replacement for gasoline (M100).


2. Methanol made from wind power or power from the BC grid has lower carbon intensity than any of the current ethanol options.


3. Methanol made from wind power captures carbon dioxide emissions at the point of production, enabling expansion of BC natural gas production with no additional carbon dioxide discharges.


4. Methanol made from wind power will facilitate development of the massive wind power reserves in the northeast, and generate jobs throughout BC.


5. BC-produced renewable methanol can be produced at an equivalent cost to conventional ethanol.


6. Renewable methanol is not subject to the wide swings in the cost of feedstocks that have characterized conventional ethanol, thereby providing long-term price stability.