Fueling Options Range from Home to Highway

California’s natural gas fueling infrastructure—the most extensive in the United States—makes it easier than ever to use NGVs.

The state had more than 460 natural gas stations at the beginning of 2009. The majority dispense compressed natural gas (CNG) for cars, light trucks and vans, and some heavy-duty vehicles; a smaller number of strategically located stations supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) for long-haul heavy-duty trucks, refuse haulers and port vehicles. Stations are concentrated in metropolitan areas and along major transportation corridors.

Fueling options are growing.

Fleet operators’ awareness of the cost advantage and environmental benefits of natural gas is driving growth of private facilities, and more than one-third of California’s natural gas stations offer public access. (You can find locator maps and contact information for 146 public-access stations in the California NGV Coalition’s 2010 Natural Gas Fueling Station Directory for California, Arizona and Nevada, or find stations on the road with your PDA or phone by linking to the NREL’s Mobile Alternative Fuel Station Locator at www.afdc.energy.gov/stations/m.) Consumers can also fill up at home with FuelMaker’s Phill refueling appliance.

Natural gas stations are self-supporting.

These facilities are economically viable without subsidies or oil company participation because stations are built to serve established fleets, with public access available if desired. They can be profitable while offering highly competitive fuel prices—high-use fleets can pay 20 to 80 cents less than retail.

This infrastructure can pave the way for hydrogen vehicles.

CNG technology provides valuable knowledge about storing a compressed fuel and designing stations. Many facility and operational changes fleet operators must make to convert from petroleum fuels to natural gas will also apply to hydrogen-fueled vehicles. And natural gas is widely considered the best current source for producing hydrogen, so CNG stations are a logical foundation for a hydrogen fueling infrastructure.

Photo credits: station courtesy Clean Energy Fuels;
Phill with Civic GX courtesy American Honda