Freedom CNG, a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel station and infrastructure provider, will open its second truck friendly fast fill CNG fueling station in Houston this week, further encouraging the local use of clean fuel vehicles in southeast Texas. The station is located across the road from Houston Distributing Company (HDC) and will service that company’s newest fleet additions – twenty-eight (12 liter) CNG-powered Peterbilt tractors to transport product from Fort Worth to Houston.
“Freedom CNG’s vision for the future is to provide enough truck friendly fast-fill CNG fueling stations in the Houston area for fleets to have the confidence to adopt CNG as their fuel of choice,” said Bill Winters, Managing Member of Freedom CNG. “When fleet owners believe they can fuel their vehicles in any area of the county, CNG adoption will occur rapidly and become widespread.”
There is significant potential for CNG uptake in the region that has approximately 100,000 short haul diesel vehicles in the eight counties surrounding Houston according to the Texas Transportation Institute, not including long haul diesel trucks or light duty diesel vehicles (pickups).
Rick Roberts, General Manager of HDC said, “As we diversify our fuel mix, we are proud to partner with Freedom CNG to promote a cleaner burning, cost effective fuel for our fleet and our neighbors in Northwest Harris County. We recognize the future risk of crude oil spikes and its potentially devastating effects on our business and have selected CNG to help mitigate that risk.”
Like Freedom CNG’s first station is south Houston, the new station will serve third party users from passenger vehicles to tractor trailers, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Replacing older diesel vehicles with CNG power creates a significant clean air dividend for the entire community,” added Winters. CNG is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline, diesel fuel, or propane and is the cleanest burning alternative fuel available. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CNG’s combustion produces 20 percent less carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas), 70 percent less carbon monoxide, 89 percent less volatile organic compounds and 87 percent less nitrogen oxide than petroleum-fueled vehicles. According to the American Natural Gas Association (ANGA), diesel exhaust includes more than 40 substances that are listed by the EPA as hazardous air pollutants. By embracing natural gas vehicles, Americans can take a very practical step to help clean the air in their communities.
“Natural gas is plentiful in Texas and can help reduce the country’s reliance on foreign oil. In fact, Houston has an abundance of natural gas pipelines running through the area, and delivery of the product in the form of CNG to the consumer is both safe and clean,” said Winters. “Transferring natural gas from the pipeline to the tank of an upfitted CNG vehicle is a relatively simple process.”
(Source: Freedom CNG)
