<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Despite various benefits that the natural gas mobility can provide, CNG (hereinafter – compressed natural gas) and LNG (hereinafter – liquified natural gas) filling infrastructure both in Latvia and the Baltic States as a whole is still at the stage of active development. As a result, the natural gas fuelled vehicle fleet comprises less than 1 % of all registered road vehicles in the Baltics, but, with regards to transport and climate policies of the European Union (hereinafter – the EU), it has a significant potential for further growth.
In order to estimate the perspectives of mobility of natural gas, including bioCNG and liquified biomethane (hereinafter – LBM), CNG has been chosen and analysed as a possible alternative fuel in Latvia with its environmental and economic benefits and payback distance for CNG vehicles compared to petrol and diesel cars. The review of various types of CNG filling stations is also presented, along with information on operating tax rates and currently registered vehicles divided by types of fuel in Latvia.
It was established that with the Latvian fuel price reference of the late 2020, exploitation of CNG-powered vehicle was by 24 % cheaper per kilometre in comparison with diesel and by 66 % cheaper in comparison with petrol vehicles. CNG vehicles have smaller operational taxes, since they are based on carbon dioxide (hereinafter – CO) emissions, which are lower for CNG-powered vehicles. Calculation results also indicate that CNG vehicle payback time may fall within the warrant period, if at least 57650 kilometres as an alternative to a petrol vehicle or 71 531 kilometres as an alternative to a diesel vehicle are driven by it.
</abstract>

Despite various benefits that the natural gas mobility can provide, CNG (hereinafter – compressed natural gas) and LNG (hereinafter – liquified natural gas) filling infrastructure both in Latvia and the Baltic States as a whole is still at the stage of active development. As a result, the natural gas fuelled vehicle fleet comprises less than 1 % of all registered road vehicles in the Baltics, but, with regards to transport and climate policies of the European Union (hereinafter – the EU), it has a significant potential for further growth.
In order to estimate the perspectives of mobility of natural gas, including bioCNG and liquified biomethane (hereinafter – LBM), CNG has been chosen and analysed as a possible alternative fuel in Latvia with its environmental and economic benefits and payback distance for CNG vehicles compared to petrol and diesel cars. The review of various types of CNG filling stations is also presented, along with information on operating tax rates and currently registered vehicles divided by types of fuel in Latvia.
It was established that with the Latvian fuel price reference of the late 2020, exploitation of CNG-powered vehicle was by 24 % cheaper per kilometre in comparison with diesel and by 66 % cheaper in comparison with petrol vehicles. CNG vehicles have smaller operational taxes, since they are based on carbon dioxide (hereinafter – CO) emissions, which are lower for CNG-powered vehicles. Calculation results also indicate that CNG vehicle payback time may fall within the warrant period, if at least 57650 kilometres as an alternative to a petrol vehicle or 71 531 kilometres as an alternative to a diesel vehicle are driven by it.

The Natural Gas as a Sustainable Fuel Atlernative in Latvia

Faculty of Electrical and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Power Engineering

Latvian Journal of Physics and Technical Sciences

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"The Natural Gas as a Sustainable Fuel Atlernative in Latvia"}

Despite various benefits that the natural gas mobility can provide, CNG (hereinafter – compressed natural gas) and LNG (hereinafter – liquified natural gas)...

The Natural Gas as a Sustainable Fuel Atlernative in Latvia

Published Online: Jun 24, 2021

Page range: 169 - 185

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/lpts-2021-0024

Keywords
Alternative fuels, CNG, filling stations, Latvia, LNG, transport decarbonisation, transport infrastructure

© 2021 J. Savickis et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Natural Gas as a Sustainable Fuel Atlernative in Latvia

Published Online: Jun 24, 2021

Page range: 169 - 185

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/lpts-2021-0024

KeywordsAlternative fuels, CNG, filling stations, Latvia, LNG, transport decarbonisation, transport infrastructure

© 2021 J. Savickis et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Alternative fuels, CNG, filling stations, Latvia, LNG, transport decarbonisation, transport infrastructure