Struggling to get your fill: Choices limited for finding fuel for vehicles with compressed natural gas
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By JEFF DEMOSS
Standard-Examiner staff
jdemoss@standard.net
Melroy Vigoren loves paying less than $1 per gallon at the gas station.
He also loves the fact that his engine gives off almost no emissions, and that after thousands of miles, his motor oil still has a translucent amber hue.
But finding a pump that carries his fuel of choice is a challenge -- not to mention finding one that has enough pressure to fill his tank.
"The savings is great, but you can only get a few gallons if the pressure's down," the Washington Terrace resident said. "They're giving out tax incentives for people to buy these cars, but they're a little slow on getting the facilities built."
Vigoren is part of a growing segment of motorists who, fed up with high prices for gasoline and diesel fuel, have turned to vehicles that run on compressed natural gas.
There are 24 natural gas filling stations open to the public in Utah -- second only to California, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Much of Utah's relatively proactive approach stems from the fact that local prices are among the lowest in the nation.
The current per-gallon equivalent price at the natural gas pump is 87 cents, compared to about $2.50 in California.
Natural gas offers fuel economy comparable to that of regular gasoline.
Even though Utah is considered ahead of the curve, officials acknowledge that a recent surge in demand for natural gas as a motor fuel has made it difficult for the supporting infrastructure to keep up.
"It's definitely putting a strain on our compressor systems," Questar Gas spokesman Darren Shepherd said.
For motor fuel purposes, natural gas is compressed to more than 3,000 pounds per square inch. About 3,200 psi is required to fill a typical eight-gallon tank.
Maintaining that level of pressure was not a problem until recently, Shepherd said.
"When so many vehicles are pulling into these stations, the compressors don't always have a chance to refill," he said.
Summertime heat only exacerbates the problem, he added.
As a state-regulated utility, Questar has to get approval from the Utah Public Service Commission for every new filling station.
The company has installed 19 stations statewide, including new locations in Perry and Woods Cross this year, but currently has no plans in the works for more of the stations, which cost about $500,000 each.
Shepherd said that in the past 18 months, the company's sales at the pump have quadrupled, from about 100,000 gallons a month to 400,000 gallons.
Conversion kits are available for most vehicles, but the only manufacturer currently making dedicated, natural-gas cars is Honda, which offers the Civic GX.
The only Utah dealer carrying the Civic GX is Ken Garff Honda in downtown Salt Lake City.
Ron Brown, who specializes in natural gas cars at the dealership, said there is a year-long order backlog for the vehicle.
"We're sold out for 12 months. I have 330 deposits down. It's nuts," Brown said.
For about $5,000, individuals can purchase equipment that allows them to tap into their natural gas line at home and use it to fill their vehicles. Similar to an electric plug-in vehicle, only using natural gas instead of electricity, the vehicle slowly fills up overnight.
But with prices so low at the pump, few people are exercising that option, Brown said.
"If the price at the pump gets higher, more people might consider it," he said.
There has been a recent push to open some of the state's 38 private filling stations to the public.
Three school districts in the Salt Lake City area that run buses on natural gas recently opened their facilities, bringing the total number of public stations in the state to 24.
Top of Utah school districts don't have natural gas-powered vehicles.
Gary Reed, who oversees transportation for the Ogden School District as its director of support services, said the district is looking at natural gas vehicles, "but we need to make sure it's available.
"If there's only one place in town to fill up, it might not make sense."
Ogden City and Weber State University each have a private station in Ogden, as do three private companies in the area.
The slow emergence of public natural gas stations is something of a catch-22, Shepherd said.
He said the private sector is reluctant to invest in new stations because the automotive industry is producing very few natural gas vehicles, and manufacturers balk at producing more vehicles, in part because of a shortage of fueling stations.
For supply to catch up with demand, he said private businesses and investors will have to take on a much larger role, and all parties involved will need to step up their efforts.
"We think the only way the infrastructure will grow is through a partnership where government is creating the incentives, the utilities are helping with distribution, the private sector is making investments in stations, and the auto manufacturers start manufacturing these vehicles."
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