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America’s struggle to curb its emissions from natural gas threatens to undermine the Biden administration’s goal of having 100% carbon-free power generation by 2035.

The North American Council for Freight Efficiency produced a confidence report to assist fleet decision-makers in making informed choices on whether to switch to natural gas fuel. 

Daimler Truck North America subsidiary Freightliner announced Oct. 5 it will offer the new Cummins X15N natural gas engine in its heavy-duty Freightliner Cascadia trucks.

The first testing of natural gas-fueled European Volvo Group Class 8 trucks on North American roads is set to begin by the end of September, and more imports could be on the way.

By the middle of next year, Cummins will be offering a full-size truck engine that runs on natural gas, called the X15N.

Cummins has been testing its X15N engine in the U.S. for more than a month, a big step forward for its largest natural gas-powered, heavy-duty trucking powertrain in North America.

The Biden administration has dropped, for now, a plan that would have awarded automakers such as Tesla Inc. credits for using renewable natural gas to power electric vehicles.

U.S. natural gas prices tumbled after a fire broke out at a Texas export terminal, threatening to leave supplies of the fuel stranded in shale basins despite surging overseas demand.

Progressively tougher clean air mandates and the increasing corporate focus on environmental sustainability could signal a larger role for natural gas — especially renewable natural gas — as a trucking fuel, experts said.

Dekalb County started with a simple idea to convert methane into usable natural gas, and it turned the idea into an economic winner that increased the efficiency and productivity of their operations.