Hi whytee,
The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), whose targets have to be met by 2024, "expressly approved the retrofitting of diesel-powered generator sets for partial Natural Gas usage (using a fuel mixture of diesel and Natural Gas) as a cost-effective way to convert the huge number of existing diesel generator sets (gensets) across India to a Natural Gas operation".
This a huge endorsement for dual fuel technology systems like OptiBlend (commonly known as DFGS technology), and is thus a major market opportunity for Eden with their OptiBlend DFGS technology, which is a technically mature product that has been on the market for many years.
The major advantage of using the OptiBlend technology is that natural gas burns cleaner than diesel, so a mixed fuel can offer lower emissions than a generator powered solely by diesel. By using the OptiBlend technology, end-users will not need to invest in a completely new generator (genset), and thus they will be able to quickly meet these new very strict NCAP guidelines, without incurring major additional costs.
The other potential benefit of the OptiBlend technology is the availability of natural gas. Most industrial businesses already have a natural gas supply available nearby. This supply does not need to be stored on site, which eliminates the maintenance and space associated with large diesel fuel tanks.
Because natural gas burns much cleaner than diesel, less routine maintenance of genset components will be required, which will be another cost saving.
Whether natural gas is more or less expensive than diesel is immaterial i.e. under the new NCAP guidelines, whose targets have to be met by 2024, emmissions will have to reduced whatever the cost.
All in all, this NCAP initiative should really kick-start Optiblend in India. If sales of OptiBlend don't dramatically increase within the next 3-6 months, I will be the first to admit that the Optiblend technology belongs on the scrap heap.
BTW, I expect end-users in other developed countries to increasingly embrace DFGS technology in order to also dramatically reduce their own emissions. Of all of these other countries, the US is highly likely to become the major user of DFGS technology. It goes without saying that EDE is probably even better placed in the US to take advantage of such a trend. Having said this, this will all depend on who is in the White House next year.
Cheers.
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