Two CNG stations coming to Clarion County PA

CLARION, PA (by Tom DiStefano, The Clarion News)

The idea has been around for years, but without stations open to the public, only a few vehicles – usually in large company or government fleets – used natural gas as a fuel. Now, technological advances, low natural gas prices and a push for cleaner fuels and energy independence are inspiring efforts to establish compressed natural gas (CNG) as vehicle fuel.

Plans were announced last month for two new CNG fueling stations in Clarion County, and at least one shop is converting vehicles from gasoline to CNG. The Clarion County Economic Development Corporation held one of its Eggs and Answers sessions Sept. 14, focusing on the development of CNG as a vehicle fuel.

Ted Exley, head of CNG Fuel LLC of Knox announced his company’s plan for a public CNG station along Route 66 just south of the intersection of U.S. Route 322 in Marianne, designed by Larson Design Group of Williamsport.

And Mike Palo of Francis J. Palo Inc. of Clarion made a surprise announcement of plans for a station along Route 66 just south of Exit 64 and north of Mechanicsville. Palo’s facility will be built by O Ring CNG Fuel Systems of Coolspring and supplied by National Fuel Gas.

Palo said natural gas from local shallow wells is best suited for vehicle fuel as it contains less moisture that deep shale gas.Exley, already in the natural gas production business, said he looked at the wells and pipelines his business owns and decided the western half of the county would be an ideal place for a public CNG station.  He said he plans to build a second station in Knox, “and then go beyond that.”  Exley said he welcomed the idea of other companies building more CNG locations as this would encourage a larger customer base.  Palo held his own public event Sept. 20, providing more details about his station and the rationale for CNG vehicle fuel

Half the cost

Low natural gas c prices for are pushing the shift to CNG vehicle fuels. Currently, CNG costs about half as much as gasoline or diesel for the equivalent amount of energy.  While CNG prices are expected to rise in future years, Robert Beatty of O Ring said they are not likely to reach the commodity prices of $8 and $10 per thousand cubic feet they did several years ago.  Beatty predicted costs of $3 to $5 per thousand in a few years, and said abundant shale gas supplies will keep prices from going much higher, even in light of increased demand from electric utilities and other major users.

A chart based on data from the federal Energy Information Administration shows the price of diesel fuel rising steadily over the next two decades with the cost of natural gas remaining relatively stable. Nationwide, 32,000 CNG stations are needed in order to capture just 10 percent of the vehicle fuel market. If that happens, Beatty said, it could keep liquid vehicle fuel prices in check.  Seemingly unusual for someone in the energy industry, Beatty called for regulation and taxation of CNG fuels. Uniform guidelines and safety standards are needed, and there needs to be fair taxation, with CNG on an equal footing with liquid fuels.  Tax revenues are needed to support the infrastructure that forms the basis of the transportation industry, and CNG must pay its fair share. “Without highway taxes, there is no infrastructure,” Beatty said .

Beatty said public CNG stations can be a boost to the economy by reducing expenses for businesses with high transportation costs.  Savings on fuel can be used to expand businesses, add employees, or increase pay, injecting cash flow into the local economy.

Located near the interstates, locally-owned stations themselves will bring in revenue from through traffic, with more profits staying at home.

The stations

The key to adoption of CNG-fueled vehicle is the number of fueling stations available.

The hope is that a few more stations will encourage more small fleets and business to convert to CNG fuel, encouraging more CNG stations to be built.

Eventually a tipping point could be reached when the public decides there are enough CNG stations to make CNG fuel practical for them. CNG stations would then rapidly multiply.

Clarion County is an ideal area for CNG stations, with its six exits along Interstate 80.

Stations are starting to pop up in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Some are private but are willing to reach agreements to fuels other company’s fleets. Other are opening their facilities to the public and some, like Exley and Palo, are building stations for the public.

Beatty said his company has completed 16 stations so far and has another 11 under way.

The stations don’t need attendants; Palo’s station will be unmanned. Much like modern gas pumps a customer can pull in, inset a credit card, debit card or dedicated fueling card into a terminal, put a nozzle into the fuel receptacle, turn a lever to lock the nozzle on to prevent leakage, and refuel.

Behind the scenes, there are differences. Pipelines rather than tanker trucks supply a CNG fueling station. Lantz said there are four basic components, a dryer, a compressor, storage tanks and a dispenser.

Since natural gas in a pipeline contains some moisture, a dryer to remove that moisture is needed.

Any water in the natural gas will freeze and clog the dispensing system to freeze, since a gas moving from higher pressures to lower will drop in temperature.

The dehumidified gas is sent to a compressor unit which stores it in tanks under high pressure.

The pressure in the tanks must be significantly higher than the tanks in the vehicle so the vehicle tanks can be filled quickly.

There is much less explosion hazard in a station’s storage tanks than one might think, since methane will ignite only if there is enough oxygen present, and pure methane has no oxygen molecules at all.

And methane will only ignite if it is concentrated enough, and since methane rises, explosions and fires near the dispensers are unlikely if the stations are properly vented and well maintained.

Still, natural gas is nothing to trifle with, and the engineers involved with station construction emphasize safety precautions and high safety and environmental standards.

There are codes regarding CNG fueling stations, Lantz said, though the understanding and interpretation of those codes can vary. They can be very important for indoor fueling facilities or modification of existing facilities.

Conversions and costs

Gasoline-powered engines have long been converted to CNG by adding a fuel delivery system and a pressurized tank. But efficiency and safety have always been concerns.

New conversion systems and original equipment engines involve advanced computer control, fuel injection systems and new standards for storage tanks a CNG a much safer and more efficient vehicle fuel.

While conversion of gasoline (spark-ignited) engines is not new, there is now technology to allow diesel (compression-ignited) engines to use the fuel as well, making CNG an option for big rigs and heavy equipment.

Jeff Corcetti of Jeff’s Performance Plus on River Hill in Paint Township said he began investigating CNG conversions back in January, and decided it was best to do it right, using certified components.

Corcetti said he and his crew have done more than 25 conversions so far, and can convert a pick-up truck in three or four days. Part of the process involves conversion of the computerized engine controller, which is done off site and sent by express delivery.

The pressure tank for the gas is mounted in the bed of the truck and protected by a diamond-plate steel cover. The gas is delivered through a regulator and a fuel injection system to the cylinders.

Conversion costs can range between $6,000 and $12,000 depending on the size of the fuel tanks, options and model of the vehicle.

Corcetti warned against using untrained installers or do-it-yourself kits, as they can present significant safety and reliability problems.

Fuel costs savings can pay off the extra investment in just a few years.

Lantz presented a slide showing that with gasoline at $3.85 a gallon and CNG at $2.08 for an amount equivalent to a gallon of gasoline, a pick-up getting 15 miles to the gallon and traveling 30,000 miles a year can pay off a $7,500 conversion cost in less than two years.

That’s not considering reduced maintenance costs; because of less carbon deposit, oil changes can be much less frequent and engines can last much longer – perhaps more than 250,000 miles.

The DEP offers an incentive program funded by impact fees paid by shale gas drillers. Grants totaling $20 million are available to help pay for conversions or the extra costs of CNGready vehicles.

The grants will cover half the cost or up to $25,000 for vehicles that use only natural gas, or for bi-fuel vehicles weighing more than 7 tons.

Many vehicle manufacturers are building cars, pickups and heavy trucks ready to use either CNG and gasoline or CNG and diesel. Honda has developed a version of its Civic that uses only CNG.

CNG is green, mostly

While not perfect – it is still a carbon-based, fossil fuel – CNG is much cleaner than gasoline or diesel. According to O Ring, CNG can reduce carbon monoxide pollution by 90 percent, carbon dioxide by 25 percent, nitrogen oxides by half and other hydrocarbon emissions by more than half .

There are also fewer toxic and carcinogenic emissions from CNG vehicles and virtually no particulates, which contribute to lung disease.

Being lighter than air, methane will naturally rise. This is good for safety, and as a gas, leaked methane is not an issue for soil or water.

But leakage is a significant issue for the atmosphere. Methane is not toxic, but it is a potent greenhouse gas, capturing and holding over 20 times the heat carbon dioxide does.

The good news: methane breaks down much more quickly in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. The bad news: methane breaks down into carbon dioxide (and water), which persists in the atmosphere for a long time.

Energy independence

Energy security and foreign relations were mentioned by nearly every speaker at both events. The U.S. imports a large proportion of its oil for liquid fuels from foreign countries, many of which are in conflict with America to various degrees.

But Beatty said we don’t have to import so much oil since we are sitting on huge reserves of natural gas.

Oil, transported by ship, is a world commodity, Beatty noted; if the US imports less oil, it will simply be sold elsewhere and demand-based prices will not change much.

But natural gas, transported mainly by pipeline, is a continental commodity, and its price will depend on North American supply and demand.

Beatty said many members of his family are in the military, and the U.S has been using troops to protect its energy supplies around the world.

“The media tells us we must imports 67 percent of our energy…but that’s not true…when we only use nine percent of the available natural gas in the quad-state region,” Beatty said, referring to Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and New York.

“We can literally be the Saudi Arabia to the rest of the world.”