Add to favorites Examiner Bio Grand opening of clean fuel station
October 16, 11:11 AMTucson Business Insight ExaminerBerry SilvermanPrevious Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe Subscribe




Small fleets, shuttles, buses and cars now have a new fueling station open to the public here in Tucson for compressed natural gas. Located at the corner of East Winsett and South Kino, the station is operated by Clean Energy, based in Seal Beach, California, on a lot leased from the City of Tucson. In addition to the Clean Energy CNG station near the airport, the new station will help overcome the relative scarcity of local CNG fueling locations.

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a clean-burning fuel which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 30% - even more for some types of pollutants. Since CNG vehicles are not reliant on burning fossil-fuel oil, there is the added benefit of helping reduce the importation and production of oil-based fuels. The Tucson Unified School District was the first school district in the nation to convert their buses to CNG in the early 1980s and have been using them successfully ever since.

As James Harger, a Senior Vice President of Clean Energy, explained, CNG is "clean, cheap, domestic, and abundant." Prices for CNG are roughly $.50 to a dollar per gallon (equivalent) less than gasoline, with even larger savings for retail fleets. CNG is a domestic product, with proven reserves sufficient for the next 120 years. As a renewable resource, it can be extracted from existing landfills, as well. And to put the "clean" aspect of CNG in perspective, James Harger mentioned the fuel you burn in your stove. You wouldn't want to cook with gasoline, unless you like black exhaust on the walls of your kitchen or the thought of breathing in those fumes. But natural gas is indeed used in kitchens since it is safe and clean.

Fleet vehicles include high gas-consumption forms of transportation, such as city and school buses, smaller shuttle buses, package delivery services, taxis, garbage trucks and the like, which generally use regular gasoline or diesel fuel and create significant emissions. If you've ever been in your car behind an older traditional bus, you might remember the cloud of black exhaust which envelops your car. And if all of our fleet vehicles over the next 20 years were converted to CNG, the reduction in greenhouse gases would be significant for the planet.

CNG vehicles also will eventually take another type of fleet vehicle - the gasoline tanker trucks -- off the highways. Natural gas is delivered to the CNG stations through regular gas pipelines, such as Southwest Gas uses here in Tucson. The gas is then compressed to 3600 lbs per square inch right at the station, which then delivers it to vehicles just as a traditional gas station does.

Smaller fleets, such as corporate cars, and private vehicles can also use CNG. Currently, Honda is the only major automaker in the US offering a CNG car available to the public. Chapman Honda here in Tucson sells the Civic GX, the Honda CNG fuel-efficient car. A number of the other major automakers produce CNG cars, but they are not yet available in the US. In addition to fuel savings and a clear emissions conscience, drivers of CNG cars can also enjoy the speedy HOV lanes in Phoenix and elsewhere. Although CNG cars are still the exception in the most states, over 7 million CNG vehicles are on the roads throughout the world - primarily in China, India, and throughout South America. Currently California and New York lead the charge for the most CNG vehicles on the road.

Traditional gasoline-burning vehicles can be converted to use CNG fuel. BAF and Baytech are two manufacturers which supply distributors with EPA-certified CNG conversion kits for general use. The conversion kits cost approximately $15,000, and the US government helps reduce that cost with a $6,000 to $7,000 tax credit. The remaining conversion expense will be offset by increased fuel savings. When gasoline prices were at their peak over $4 per gallon, savings using CNG ran as much as $2 or more per gallon. So as gasoline prices rise, the differential compared to CNG will also increase.

What can the use of CNG mean for Tucson? Perhaps reduction of fuel surcharges for garbage service, package delivery, and so on. Perhaps lower government and private-sector fuel costs which are passed on to us in the form of increased prices and higher taxes. Perhaps our local contribution to slowing the growth of global warming. Perhaps even a clear view of downtown from the Catalinas on a hot summer day.


Buck