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| | SR1088 | | LRB100 15506 MST 30535 r |
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1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is the freight rail hub of |
3 | | the nation and its rail network represents a
significant |
4 | | portion of the State's transportation infrastructure; and
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5 | | WHEREAS, The seven major U.S. freight railroads consumed |
6 | | more than 3.6 billion gallons of diesel fuel in 2012, or 7% of
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7 | | all diesel fuel consumed in the United States; the fuel cost |
8 | | more than $11 billion in 2012 and accounted
for 23% of total |
9 | | operating expenses; and
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10 | | WHEREAS, Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel |
11 | | and is being used throughout the world to reduce harmful
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12 | | emissions; and |
13 | | WHEREAS, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is natural gas cooled |
14 | | to -162°C and converted to liquid, which takes up
1/600th the |
15 | | volume of gas in the gaseous state; and |
16 | | WHEREAS, Railroads are considering the use of LNG in |
17 | | locomotives because of the potential for significant fuel cost
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18 | | savings and the resulting reductions in fuel operating costs; |
19 | | given the expected price difference
between LNG and diesel |
20 | | fuel, future fuel savings are expected to more than offset the |
21 | | approximately $1
million incremental cost associated with an |
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| | SR1088 | - 2 - | LRB100 15506 MST 30535 r |
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1 | | LNG locomotive and its tender; and |
2 | | WHEREAS, The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) |
3 | | projects that Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) will play an
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4 | | increasing role in powering freight locomotives in coming |
5 | | years; continued growth in domestic natural
gas production and |
6 | | substantially lower natural gas prices compared to crude oil |
7 | | prices could result in
significant cost savings for locomotives |
8 | | that use LNG as a fuel source; and
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9 | | WHEREAS, Canadian National (CN) tested a Liquefied Natural |
10 | | Gas (LNG)-fueled train on a 300-mile portion of its
mainline |
11 | | between Edmonton and Fort McMurray, Alberta, from September |
12 | | 2012 to September 2013; the 3,000-horsepower locomotives, |
13 | | which operated 90% on natural gas and 10% on diesel,
were |
14 | | estimated to have reduced carbon dioxide emissions by about 30% |
15 | | and nitrogen oxide
emissions by about 70%; and
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16 | | WHEREAS, In June 2016, Russian Railways struck an agreement |
17 | | with Russian gas supplier Gazprom to develop LNG
fueling |
18 | | infrastructure at locations approved by Russian Railways to |
19 | | test 40 gas turbine-powered
locomotives; and
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20 | | WHEREAS, In December 2016, it was announced that Indian |
21 | | Railways will move forward with converting all of its
existing |
22 | | locomotives to dual-fuel LNG engines, which will cut diesel |
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| | SR1088 | - 3 - | LRB100 15506 MST 30535 r |
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1 | | consumption by 20%; therefore, be it
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2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL |
3 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge Congress to |
4 | | enact tax incentives that would encourage rail carriers to |
5 | | utilize
natural gas powered locomotives and grow LNG |
6 | | infrastructure; and be it further
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7 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be |
8 | | delivered to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, U.S. |
9 | | Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. Speaker of the House |
10 | | Paul Ryan, U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy |
11 | | Pelosi, and all members of the Illinois Congressional |
12 | | Delegation.
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