Natural Gas Cars: CNG Fuel Almost Free in Some Parts of the Country
While the national average price of gasoline is now $3.60, some residents of Utah are happily filling up on compressed natural gas (CNG) at $0.63 per gallon. That’s the country’s lowest price for CNG, which has understandably caused a surge in demand for vehicles running on a fuel that one man described as “practically free.”
So far, CNG vehicles haven’t made a blip on my radar screen, even though the group Natural Gas Vehicles for America (NGVA) estimates there are 150,000 NGVs on U.S. roads today and over 5 million worldwide. It took a phone call from sunny Southern Utah to clue me in to recent developments, which include a local refueling station overflowing with CNG-hungry vehicles.
There are about 1500 CNG refueling stations in the US, which is about the same number of commercial stations offering E85 ethanol blends. Utah has a total of 91 CNG filling stations, most of which are reserved for commercial fleet use, but there are 20 open to the public. According to an article by the Associated Press, you could drive Utah from top to bottom and hit 22 different stations offering compressed natural gas.
The NGVA also says there are 50 different manufacturers producing 150 models of light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles and engines that run on compressed natural gas. Unfortunately, there’s only one for sale to individuals, Honda’s Civic GX, and it’s only offered in California and New York (although Utah could be next on the list). California ranks highest in number of CNG refueling stations, but fuel prices are also higher—more like $2.50 per gallon.
There’s so much demand now in Utah for CNG-ready vehicles that Honda can’t make them fast enough. Savvy customers are buying the vehicles from other states and shipping them back for sale. But waiting for a new Honda Civic GX to role off the assembly line isn’t the only option. It’s also possible to convert a used vehicle to run on natural gas, like Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who converted his state-owned Chevy Suburban. And for either used or new vehicles, the tax incentives are substantial. Combining state and federal tax credits in Utah can almost completely offset the approximately $7,000 difference in price between regular and CNG-ready vehicles.
One of the major benefits of using compressed natural gas is a significant reduction in emissions when compared to gasoline. Compressed natural gas is touted as the “cleanest burning” alternative fuel available, since the simplicity of the methane molecule reduces tailpipe emissions of different pollutants by 35-97%. Not quite as dramatic is the reduction in net greenhouse-gas emissions, which is about the same as corn-grain ethanol at about a 20% reduction over gasoline.
The big question in Utah is whether or not the infrastructure can keep up with the amount of new CNG cars on the road. Utah already has 5,000 CNG vehicles, up from none a few years ago, essentially overwhelming the refueling network.
Then, of course, there’s the question of natural gas supply. According to the NGVA, worldwide supply of natural gas is almost infinite, assuming we can tap into methane hydrate ice formations at the bottom of the arctic oceans. If we can’t figure that out, we can just drill more (please note the sarcastic tone):
…there are huge natural gas resources on public lands in the U.S. that currently are off-limits to drilling. These include areas a hundred miles or more off the coast of Florida and America’s east and west coast as well as the Rocky Mountain area. The current run-up in natural gas prices is increasing political pressure to allow gas exploration and production in these areas.
More promising is the potential of bio-methane, or the production of methane from the natural breakdown of plant material, something already captured by landfills in the US. The NGVA says that waste biomass could supply enough natural gas for about 11 million natural gas vehicles, which is approximately 5% of the nation’s automotive fleet.
This is certainly something to watch out for, and maybe even participate in if you live in Utah. Now that it’s got my attention, I’ll be taking a closer look at the Honda Civic GX this week, a car that has been called the cleanest burning vehicle on the planet.
More on Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles:
The Cleanest Cars on Earth: Honda Civic GX and Other Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs)
For more on this story, see Natural-gas vehicles hot in Utah, where the fuel is cheap. Also see How Natural Gas Vehicles Work for more background.
i think cng is the way to go. how can i convert my 2003 toyota matrix to run on natural gas ? now if we could combine electric motors with cng and get the electric motors to run until 45 mph instead of 25-35 mph then we could save quite a lot on fuels and greatly increase the range. also they say the tank adds 200 or so pounds to the weight of the vehicle. why not make the tank out of the same composite matetrial that Boeing is making its 787 out of ?
waiting for reply
jim
I have my own personal gas well on my property. The fuel would be free for me. Where do I find a conversion kit and how hard is it to install on a vehicle?
In 2003, the consulting firm Accenture claimed that the US could convert to cars running CNG in 10 years for a total cost of about $300 billion. I don’t think I have to mention where we’re presently spending that much money with what results. You can read an article about Accenture’s proposal here: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2003/06/01/343389/index.htm
There are companies selling conversion kits, here’s one: http://www.omnitekcorp.com/altfuel.htm
This is the proof that there is no shortage of oil. If the U.S. was halfa_ _ serious about solving the fuel situation, CNG is the answer.
where can I buy this car.
my email is bertramsg@yahoo.com
It’s a great Idea !! To market/push CNG cars..
The bigger question is will the natural gas suppliers/investors get greedy just as the the Oil companies are today. Will we be feeling that same pain from two sources AE:Oil today is Natural gas next ??? As any other it will be supply and demand. I hope this does not drive the Price of Natural Gas prices skyrocketing…
Did you know that GM sells cng cars right now in Sweden under the Opel brand. It is such a rip-off that the American consumer is just fed horsepower and expected to accept 30 miles per gallon as gas saving car. In Europe lots of cars get 50 to 70 miles per gallon. Don’t you find it a bit strange that, with all the new technology, we can’t buy a car that beats a 1989 Geo Metro in fuel economy?
hello everyone. i am a 15 year mechanic in the automotive industy and i would love to see a hole new line of these cars. i think its one of mans best inventions. great gas mileage, lower costing fuel and a great supply of natural gas all over the world..hahah! i live in las vegas now where i build custom race and show cars but my family is from kentucky where they own a LARGE amount of LAND.
they had oil pumps put on their land to pump oil and come to find out they have ENOUGH NATURAL GAS TO SUPPLY 1/4 THE STATE OF KENTUCKY FOR THE NEXT MANY YEARS TO COME.. IF ANY ONE WOULD LIKE TO REACH ME ON INVESTING IN THIS LAND LET ME KNOW. i’ll be contacting these NG companies to see if i can find any buyers for the NG in the land. email: jeremiahengland1977@hotmail.com
I am very interested in CNG vehicles, but I can not understand why they cost so much. I have been told that some people haver installed their own CNG equipment and then find they have to pay $7,000 to have their installation examined and certified - the same as the cost to have their vehicle converted by a CNG dealer. It seems very counter productive or unbusiness like. And the cost to have one’s own home natural gas available for their own CNG vehicle also seems rediculously expensive!
Hi there anybody knows where I can get a cng kit for my 96 chevy suburban in California