Increased activity across various States, including Texas, Oklahoma, California, North Carolina and Pennsylvania is indicative of the ground swell of interest for natural gas as an affordable, domestic, clean fuel in the US today. Additionally, major bus supplier Motor Coach Industries is feeling out the market for natural gas opportunities.
Evolution Fuels investigates dispensing CNG
Texas
Evolution Fuels, a producer, distributor, and retailer of renewable fuel in the southern region of the United States, is evaluating opportunities for the inclusion of the sale of compressed natural gas (CNG) at its fuel station in Dallas, Texas, which is currently in the design phase. The Company envisions the sale of CNG from dispensers co-located with its ethanol blending dispensers.
Evolution Fuels CEO, Dennis McLaughlin, said, “We are seeing local increased activity related to the use of CNG as a transportation fuel from various sectors. The City of Dallas utilizes numerous fleet vehicles already using CNG, local automobile conversion facilities are converting more and more private fleet vehicles over to CNG, and there are new and existing local, state, and federal incentive programs in place for the implementation of CNG. We have even been in touch with a large independent natural gas production company to discuss implementing CNG dispensers at future fueling stations in this region of the United States. I believe it is safe to say that the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex market for publicly-available CNG is currently underserved.”
Oklahoma
The City of Oklahoma has opened its first CNG refuelling station, located at the Total Express convenience store on NW164. Natural gas was selling for $1.49 litre compared with gasoline’s $2.79, a NewsOK report stated. Total Express will offer CNG at a new convenience store in the city and could expand the service to other locations.
California
The Golden Empire Transit District (GET) of California already has a fleet made up entirely of CNG buses. Now that fleet has expanded with the addition of 27 new federal and state funded CNG-powered buses, with five more to be delivered shortly, according to a Bakersfield.com report. Operating a compressed natural gas-powered bus is the equivalent of taking 17 to 33 passenger cars off the road, according to the Coalition for Clean Air.
North Carolina
Buncombe County’s Board of Commissioners plans to pass a resolution allocating federal stimulus money towards the purchase of 12 CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) alternative fuel vehicles for Mountain Mobility, reports Mountain Xpress.
Pennsylvania
The State’s 2004 Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant program continues to assist development for NGVs with new projects being approved in the southwestern region, reports the Pittsburgh Business Times. Giant Eagle Inc. won a $900,000 grant to buy 10 compressed natural gas-powered vehicles and install a public compressed natural gas refueling station in a convenient location.
Equitable Gas Co. LLC received $700,000 to build one of the first public-access natural gas refueling stations in the Pittsburgh area. “The project also will demonstrate how compressed natural gas can be used effectively and efficiently in business operations,” the announcement said.
US CNG Bus Tour
Motor Coach Industries (MCI) has placed a compressed natural gas (CNG)-equipped Commuter Coach model with a Cummins ISL G engine on a tour to demonstrate the benefits of CNG to transit executives nationwide and to gauge market receptivity, reports Metro Magazine. MCI delivered 77 CNG-equipped Commuter Coaches for NJ Transit in 1999 and 2000 – the report says that today, those original coaches are still in operation with more than 500,000 miles on the odometer.
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