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.
How long will the low prices last in the state of Utah? If one looks at other states where the price is a little lower than gasoline, it makes you wonder if the short term price will last. What can change the price.
Where could I find a kit to convert a truck (Honda Ridgeline) to CNG?
I found a website that says that the Honda GX gets 24 mpg city and 36 mpg highway with natural gas . . . .
It’s interesting that there or over 8 M CNG vehicles in the world, and under 200,000 in the US. Let’s get moving. It may be 63 cents now, but between building an infrastructure and new taxes, expect the price to go up.
My concern is that natural gas production in the US, currently, barely meets demand. If we push CNG as a fuel, and there is the same rampant price increase due to commodity speculation, then what do we burn in our furnaces for fuel when winter comes? We give so many tax breaks now to oil and gas industries, that it is difficult for any new electric cars or fuelcell cars to get going.
redfordrunner was curious about MPGs of Civic GX…
I bought a 1999 GX in 2001/2002 and have driven it for the past seven years or so in and around metro Los Angeles.
Here’s what I’ve observed…
Operating Conditions MPGGE*
50:50 Surface/Freeway 23-27
(35 mph/ 60 mph - open road)
( /15-25 mph - gridlock )
Mostly Freeway (60-70 mph) 32-36
Interstate Hypermiling, CA -> AZ (55 mph) 52
(Slowwwww acceleration,
level road - cruise control
up hill - engine in low end of top gear
down hill - engine in neutral
windows up, no AC)
Interstate Hypermiling, AZ-> CA (60 mph) 52**
(Same operating conditions as above)
The reason I decided to hyper-mile between Indio, CA and Phoenix, AZ is wanted to have a car when I was taking a three week short course at ASU in Tempe.
Turns out that there’s only one CNG pump in the 240 miles between Indio and Phoenix. It’s on the CA-AZ border in Blythe, CA and owned by Riverside County who keeps it fenced off from the public.
Using my historical average highway gas milage (34 MPGGE) and the maximum fuel volume I’ve ever pumped (7.0 gal), I could expect a radius of 238 miles (i.e. a margin of 2 miles). Admittedly, I could realistically expect to see milages near 37 MPGGE which would deliver a radius of 259 miles and a margin of 21 miles. Having run out of gas twice trying to reach the CNG station and easily wandered 15 miles searching for a station that was supposed to be “right here” according to my trusty CNG Station “Atlas”, I wanted more margin for error/bad luck. After reserching the “Internets”, I settled on a speed of 55 mph to balance the increase in travel time (3.5 h v 5.5 h), the increased risk of traveling significantly slower than the rest of traffic on the highway (I did turn on my flashers) against the improvement in gas milage.
As you can see from the data above, I boosted my best ever MPGGE by 40% from 37 MPGGE to 52 MPGGE. While everyone likes to poo-poo Jimmy Carter, it’s true that reducing the speed to 55-60 mpg does make a big difference if one is willing to take a little longer in making the trip.
- Ralph Rhineau
* MPGGE = Miles Per Gasoline Gallon Equivalent
** Reason(s)why MPGGE at 60 mph was same as
when driving at 55 mph is likely due to the
fact that one climbs 1,100-1,200 ft when
traveling East and one descends the same
amount when traveling West. Also, I had a
20-25 mph tailwind traveling East and a
10-15 mph cross wind when I traveled West.
Hello Canada
Check out honda.com to see if they can get one near you.
Are there larger Trucks available (1 ton) stake bed type suitable for construction?
how much millage do you get on the honda gx? when will it be available in Georgia? how much does the honda gx cost? How many models does it come in?
I’d like to know if there is such a thing as a cng/gasoline hybrid… One that will run on gas or cng or if conversion kits are capable of multifuel use.