In previous posts we've written about the prospects for natursal gas [NG] powered vehicles, and their potential to reduce America's reliance on imported crude oil and increasingly expensive gasoline and diesel fuel.
Currently there are only about 150,000 CNG (compressed natural gas) cars and trucks operating in the U.S. out of some 5 million worldwide, mostly in public vehicle fleets. Unlike the radical new electrics, they work on simple, decades-old technology. Moreover, existing vehicles can easily be converted to run on CNG as well.
So what's the problem then? Why don't we just "gas up" and go, shed our dependence on foreign oil and save money at the pump at the same time? Well, if you're familiar with the "chicken and the egg" syndrome, that axiom applies here precisely.
We have two interrelated problems, if you will. We need cars and trucks that run on CNG (ideally both CNG and gasoline), and we need public filling stations to refuel them. While neither of these difficulties are insurmountable, they will require investments from both automakers and the natural gas industry.
Billionaire oil man T. Boone Pickens has become engaged in this dilemma. His answer is to build massive wind farms, thereby freeing up enough NG off the nation's electric grid to operate millions of cars and trucks. He is building LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminals, which will fuel heavy trucks ("18-wheelers") newly designed to operate on this fuel. This is especially welcome in California, where clean burning LNG will replace foul-smelling, polluting diesel rigs.
But what about the rest of us? The first thing we need is a commitment from the automotive industry to build "dual-fueled" (CNG + gasoline) cars and trucks once more. This isn't a significant hurdle, since the Detroit 3 all built such "dual-fueled" fleet vehicles between 2000-05. While they never caught on with the price of gasoline at $2 a gallon or less, they will now.
More difficult is the refueling question. CNG filling stations require major capital investments, and their success is dependent upon having large numbers of vehicles to refuel. This is already working commercially in Utah and Oklahoma, two states which produce NG themselves. Drivers there buy the only CNG fueled vehicle now built in America, the Honda (HMC) Civic GX, and clamor for existing used "dual-fueled" cars and trucks they find on e-Bay. No wonder, since they fill up for the equivalent of less than $1 per gallon!
Energy companies in NG producing states like Louisiana and Texas have repeatedly looked at making such investments, but every time they've gotten close the price of oil has cratered. This shouldn't be a problem in the future, however, as it is increasingly unlikely we'll ever see the price of gas at less than $3 a gallon again.
In conclusion, NG powered vehicles have been around for a long time. But it took the vision of a Texas oil man, T. Boone Pickens, to call attention to the fact that they could play a decisive role in decreasing our dependence on foreign oil, while at the same time helping to improve our air quality. Now all we need is for American capitalism to follow up and take advantage of this opportunity.
Disclosure: None
