Workshop shows feasibility of natural gas as an alternative fuel
By Bobbie J. Clark • bobbieclark@gannett.com • January 23, 2009 2:00 am

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Buzz up! Claude Dill traveled more than 273 miles to attend the natural gas vehicle workshop Thursday at the Shreveport Convention Center.


Dill is a Cleburne County, Ark., judge. He represented his county's government during the workshop. Dill said the county has more than 200 vehicles that could run on natural gas.

"We feel like we need to start looking at alternative fuels for our county vehicles," Dill said. "But first we have to see how it will pay off for us in the long run."

Cleburne County is one of several counties in Arkansas that have benefitted from the natural gas industry. The county sits in the middle of the Fayetteville Shale natural gas deposit in the northern part of the state.

Dill said because of the shale, sales tax revenue has increased in Cleburne by 14 percent in 2008. Some counties have seen increases up to 29 percent, he added.

"This is the thing of the future. We have so much natural gas. We need to push it as a huge alternative fuel so we no longer depend on foreign oil."

Dill was one of nearly 200 attendees of the workshop, called "The Compelling Case For NGVs." NGVs stands for natural gas vehicles. The workshop was held at the Shreveport Convention Center.

Fleet managers and representatives for utility companies, transportation groups, grocery store chains, environmental groups, city and state government, energy companies and car dealers came from all over the Ark-La-Tex to attend the seminar.

It was hosted by the Clean Vehicle Education Foundation, in partnership with the Clean Cities Coalitions of Arkansas, east Texas and Louisiana.

There also were several vendors available to show off their goods and answer questions.

Stephe Yborra, marketing and communications manager for NGV America, led the workshop.

Yborra stressed that the workshop was directed at municipalities and business fleets.

The unavailability of fueling stations in the area would make NGVs impractical for consumers, he said.

However, people can have their own fueling station at home for around $5,000, and the 2009 Honda Civic GX for about $25,000.

Baton Rouge car dealership Team Honda had a GX on display in front of the convention center. They even let a few people take it for a test drive.

The vehicle has a range of about 225 to 250 miles before it needs fueling.

Team Honda sales executive Michael Badeaux said the consumer market for NGVs will catch on once the infrastructure starts getting built.

Initially, that duty will rest on the shoulders of municipalities, school boards and small businesses.

The main message of the workshop was to let those groups know that converting a fleet to natural gas was possible, and there are some major incentives being offered and huge savings down the road.

Yborra said the initial investment of installing a filling station and buying or converting vehicles would be offset by the savings of fuel and maintenance costs.

The workshop's primary messages were:

n Energy security, environment and economics are driving the market to use alternative fuels and technologies.

n There are a variety of light-, medium- and heavy-duty NGVs available with performance and reliability equal to or exceeding that of comparable gas- and diesel-powered vehicles.

n There are multiple fuel station design, development, ownership and operations options.

n New tax credits supplement existing grants — all of which further improve NGVs' payback and life-cycle cost advantages.

n Resources are available to facilitate specification, purchase and deployment of NGVs and fueling infrastructure.


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