EDMOND —
Allie McHughes filled her pickup with compressed natural gas Thursday morning at the OnCue Express gas station at 800 S. Broadway.
She said she was in Edmond for several reasons — to showcase the range of her CNG vehicle, to promote the benefits of CNG, to promote her CNG-related business and to promote the NAT GAS Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. John Sullivan, R-Tulsa.
McHughes, a repair manager for Tulsa-based CNG Oklahoma Auto Sales, was driving an 800-mile range CNG vehicle that can travel from Tulsa to Los Angeles with only one refill. The Tulsa Flyer is the flagship vehicle for her company.
“It’s 800-mile range proves that CNG vehicles are viable even with the infrastructure the U.S. currently has,” McHughes said.
McHughes said with its current capacity, the Tulsa Flyer could drive across the entire U.S. on only three tanks of gas. Greater CNG use will reduce American dependence on foreign oil, she said.
Compressed natural gas powers more than 100,000 vehicles in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. A CNG fuel system transfers the high-pressure natural gas from the storage tank to the engine while reducing the pressure to the operating pressure of the engine’s fuel management system.
The natural gas is injected into the engine intake air the same way gasoline is injected into a gasoline-fueled engine. The fuel-air mixture is compressed and ignited by a spark plug, and the expanding gases produce rotational forces that propel the vehicle.
According to the U.S Department of Energy’s alternative and advanced vehicles data center, local public CNG outlets include Oklahoma Natural Gas, Edmond Storage Facility, 12851 N. Rockwell Ave., Total Express, 16401 N. Rockwell Ave., and Oklahoma Natural Gas, Guthrie Service Center, 205 Sigma Place. For more details, including locations of other outlets in Oklahoma, visit the data center on the Internet. Call before visiting a station to ensure it is open and the fuel is available.
In Oklahoma, the CNG price difference relative to gasoline was $2-$1.50 lower, according to the January 2011 issue of the quarterly Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report.
Around town, Susan Parks-Schlepp, spokeswoman for Edmond Public Schools, said the district has as a part of its annual operating goals a possible pilot to introduce and study the long-term viability of CNG.
The district has applied to the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments for a grant to assist in the purchasing or retrofitting of existing vehicles as a part of the study, Parks-Schlepp said. In November, the school board will be apprised as to the economics of a CNG conversion for the district, she said.
The City of Edmond has been working on integrating alternative fuels, specifically CNG, into its public transportation service. City Manager Larry Stevens said the city is in the process of converting six Citylink buses to CNG, one at a time. Citylink began operating in July 2009.
The conversion kits are being installed for an estimated $30,000 each, according to the development of the Edmond energy and resource conservation strategy project summary. Converting the vehicles to CNG will result in about a 50 percent decrease in annual fuel costs, the city estimated. Funding came from a stimulus grant.
Stevens said the city also will purchase two CNG solid waste vehicles.
Sullivan said 69 percent of the oil used in the country is for transportation, two-thirds of which is produced in North America. By contrast, 98 percent of natural gas is produced in North America, he said.
In April, the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions (NAT GAS) Act, H.R. 1380, was referred to the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power. It would allow a variety of tax credits, including an excise tax credit for vehicles powered by natural gas or liquefied natural gas through 2016.
It also requires the energy secretary to provide funding to improve the performance, efficiency and integration of natural gas powered vehicles and heavy duty on-road vehicles. And it authorizes the secretary to make grants to manufacturers of light- and heavy-duty gas vehicles for development of engines that reduce emissions, improve performance and efficiency and lower cost.
Sullivan estimates his legislation would create more than 500,000 jobs in the United States.
marks@edmondsun.com | 341-2121 ext. 108
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MARK SCHLACHTENHAUFEN | THE EDMOND SUN Allie McHuges fills the Tulsa Flyer with compressed natural gas Thursday at the Broadway OnCue Express in Edmond. The vehicle has an 800-mile range.
Discussion
CNG fan touts NAT GAS Act in Edmond
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