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Despite high gas prices, Ohio drivers move slowly, cautiously toward CNG vehicles
youngstown
High gasoline prices combined with low rates for natural gas could lead more people to consider converting their cars to operate using compressed natural gas.
But making the switch is akin to the chicken-and-the-egg dilemma, some say. Dealerships do not carry natural-gas vehicles because they claim there is no demand for them; customers are not asking for the vehicles because they are not readily available and neither are fueling stations, said Neil Durbin, senior communications specialist for Dominion East Ohio.
“People can get a home filling station, but those cost $4,000 to $5,000,” Durbin said.
One issue with conversion to CNG vehicles is fuel cost. Natural-gas prices have been much higher recently reaching more than $10 per 1,000 cubic feet, he said. Another problem has been the $3,000 to $4,000 cost to convert a vehicle to operate on CNG.
“Currently natural-gas vehicles are more practical for fleets, for vehicles that come back to the central point every night,” Durbin said.
Jimmy Stewart, president of the Ohio Gas Association, agreed fleets are most economically viable for conversion to CNG. He drives a Honda Civic which operates on natural gas.
The nearest location to buy the CNG Civic, which runs on natural gas, is in Cleveland Heights. The nearest place to fill a CNG vehicle is in Canton. The Canton location opened recently, Stewart said.
Natural gas currently costs $1.79 for the equivalent of one gallon in the Columbus area, he said.
Someone who used a filling station at their home would pay about 60 cents for the equivalent of one gallon, Stewart said.
“Natural-gas vehicles are never going to completely replace gasoline or diesel for the country’s entire fleet,” he said. “It may help us reduce our dependence on oil that has to be shipped in from other countries.”
The biggest problem remains the lack of infrastructure. Some states such as Oklahoma, Utah and California have many places to purchase CNG, Stewart said.
“[What] I can say for natural gas is it burns cleaner, it’s cheaper and its 100 percent from the U.S.A. We don’t have to ship it in from somewhere else,” he said.
The biggest issue with natural gas is, even with the compressed product used, a tank only holds the equivalent of about 8.5 gallons of fuel, Stewart said. This means a tank of fuel for a CNG vehicle will not let it travel as far as a gasoline-powered vehicle.
Dominion East Ohio was an early converter to using natural-gas vehicles. The company has been using compressed natural gas as a vehicle fuel since the 1980s, Durbin said.
One of the problems with price consistency for natural gas has been supply. The work going on in the shale is expected to provide plenty of supply to keep up with any rise in demand, he said. This should help avoid the price spikes that have occurred with natural gas over the past decade.
At one time the Western Reserve Transit Authority used natural gas vehicles, but got out of CNG because of issues with the engines overheating, said Thomas Nugen, director of transportation for the WRTA.
Natural-gas vehicles now are a lot different, he said.
The WRTA has explored purchasing more natural-gas vehicles, said Matthew Kotanchek, director of maintenance.
“With fuel prices the way they are there is plenty of reason to investigate,” he said. “We’re still in the initial stages of research.”
One issue is finding a secure fueling station that would fit the WRTA’s needs; WRTA also is investigating the cost of CNG vehicles or conversion, Kotanchek said.