The Texas Senate sent a bill to Gov. Rick Perry’s Desk Thursday afternoon that will establish incentives for companies to buy natural gas-fueled vehicles and help fund fueling stations in the “Texas Triangle” between Houston, San Antonio and Dallas-Ft. Worth.
Senate Bill 20 would redirect the funds from the existing Texas Emissions Reduction Program – which replaces or retrofits heavy-duty construction equipment and other vehicles that emit high levels of pollution with less noxious equipment — toward those that specifically use natural gas. Here’s a summary of the bill by the House Research Organization.
Natural gas producers have been big supporters of the measure (and similar legislation in other states and at the federal level) because it would expand the market for natural gas, which has suffered from low prices in recent years due to ample domestic production.
The measures have come to a head in recent weeks as billionaires T. Boone Pickens and the Koch brothers have funded big lobbying efforts on opposite ends of the issue — Pickens on the pro side and the oil refinery-owning Kochs on the anti.
Not all the spending is taking place on K Street or in Austin, however. Apache Corp. recently donated a $1.5 million compressed natural gas fueling station to the City of Houston to run a new fleet of shuttle buses from the city-owned parking lot at Bush Intercontinental Airport.
And Houston-based Waste Management Inc. has been aggressively expanding the use of CNG in its fleet of trash trucks.
Jim Hackett, CEO of Anadarko Petroleum and Chairman of America’s Natural Gas Alliance, praised passage of Senate Bill 20, singling out Sen. Tommy Williams (R–The Woodlands), Rep. Mark Strama (D-Austin), House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst for the bill’s passage.
“This legislation will foster the development of a Texas Clean Transportation Triangle by increasing the number of natural gas-refueling stations and replacing the heaviest fuel-hungry diesel trucks with natural gas-powered trucks, thus improving Texas’ air quality and economy,” Hackett said in a statement.
“At least 10 percent of the U.S. transportation sector travels through the Triangle each year, and the U.S. Department of Transportation estimates this number will increase significantly over the next 25 years,” Hackett added.
Using more nat-gas vehicles in the region over a four-year period would be the equivalent of taking more than 175,000 cars off Texas highways, he said.
Now we finally have some movement in the use of natural gas for transportation. Notice that Obama and the feds are lagging behind, they want electric cars!!
Where can I find a CNG car or truck?
Let Walmart install natural gas pumps at it’s stores, sell natural gas conversion kits for all of our vechiles and the fuel problem would be solved.
I wish the legislature and Perry would demand NG out lets to be installed/built through out TEXAS. I would be in line to morrow to get my car converted. I hear the cost is very low and the savings would/could be GREAT.
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Frank Bowers, FIC, 100% DAV, Austin, TX 78734
To the Paul’s of this world, “That Wal-Mart suggestion is great. Nearly ever town in Texas has one and many have many Wal-Marts. I think this is a great idea.
How long does it take to refuel a cng vehicle?
I know of one years ago that took several hours may have been the compressor that was used though
This is a win-win for Texans. This will create a lot of new jobs, reduce pollution, and increase vehicle engine life.
I’d be interested to know if there are any CNG vehicles out there other than mass transit and how they compare efficiency- and cost-wise to Hybrids, Electric, and Flex-fuel vehicles. I wouldn’t mind an alternative fuel vehicle, but I want it in something like a Ford F-150 without paying 2x to 3x the price of a regular truck.
For you guys that are so excited about owning and driving one of these CNG powered vehicles, be prepared to get approximately 185 miles per tank of gas and maybe 8 places in Harris County to fill them up at. Oh, and you have about a 50/50 percent chance of the filling station being down when you arrive for your fill-up. The good news is they perform well under most driving conditions. It takes about the same mount of time to fill one up with CNG as it does with regular gasoline. And yes, I did drive one for several years
Honda sells a CNG Civic now in all 50 states. It only takes minutes to fill up.
One hurdle for aftermarket conversion kits to use CNG is that they have to be EPA approved and warrantied for five years, those requirements probably triple the cost of the conversion.
One benefit not mentioned is that oil change intervals can be at least doubled because natural gas burns so clean.
If they Koch brothers are against it, you can bet there will be anti gas talk on faux news.
Jimmy, your so fox-a-phobic! There is a channel selector on your tv, simply turn FOX off.. I am 180` at odds with MSNBC and I don’t give them a second thought. Life is too short.
How are the Feds going to get ethanol into natural gas. They force fed that crap on the American public. Now it’s electric cars. If they get on the CNG bandwagon they will be chasing their on tail. Sorry, my mistake. They are doing that already.
Parkway Chevrolet in Tomball can fit certain vehicles to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) or bi-fuel gasoline/CNG. The price to do that for a Tahoe was given as about $10,000. The EPA only allows certain certified engines to be used and I understand it costs the engine manufacturer (GM in this case) about $100,000 to do that. Compressed natural gas is available to the public at the Texas Highway Dept. location on Washington just north of I-10 and I think one other place in town. A home natural gas compressor is about $13,000 from what I could figure out online. Kind of pricey to get into this. Hope that changes.
If you have natural gas at your home, Honda sells a compressor for around $3500 that will let you fill up over night. I once looked at buying a used CNG Ford pickup truck; however, it was right when the cost of natural gas was spiking. CNG vehicles make so much more sense than these electric cars they are trying to push down our throats, and the electic cars are exponentially better than this ethanol BS.
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Now, if this ‘fracking’ debate would get settled, I may look at going with a CNG truck again.
No. Never. Under no circumstances.
No more government funding for Pickens. If people want to by gas cars, more power to them. However, throwing money down the drain like this is an abomination in circustances where we are cutting teachers.
CNG is both logical and effective at curbing our dependence upon foreign oil and supporting idiots like Chavez. It will also assist in reducing our dependence upon oil from the Middle East. Our dependence upon foreign refineries will only increase as our old infrastructure becomes obsolete and can’t meet EPA requirements for air polution. Ask yourself when you heard of a new refinery being constructed in the USA.
Honda has marketed a Civic that burns CNG for years, and it recently went nationwide on sales.
Pickens has foresight and the Koch’s agenda is greed for their sunk costs and profits. Why is “Big Oil” investing in Natura Gas fields?
Among the two biggest boondoggles purported recently upon the American Public by your government and the media is that there is a shortage of oil and that corn enthanol is both good for the environment and would lower the cost of gasoline. Ethanol works for Brazil because they have an abundance of sugar cane and are self sufficient regarding oil. Just look at the increased cost of the commodity corn in the USA alone over the past few years for food and feed. That does not include the fact that ethanol can’t be transported in current pipelines unless fully dedicated to its transport with special infrastructure. Your fearless national leaders proposal that a 15% mixture with gasoline be marketed here shows his true ignorance of its abhorant ruinous consequences to a vast majority of cars and light trucks currently in use in America.
Govchance
For you guys that are so excited about owning and driving one of these CNG powered vehicles, be prepared to get approximately 185 miles per tank of gas and maybe 8 places in Harris County to fill them up at.
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You must have been lucky. I used to get stuck running one, and it would get to Angleton and switch over to gasoline. You had to get under the hood and get dirty to refill the thing with CNG, just the thing if you were on your way to an appointment.
so
BE PREPARED FOR THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING TO GO UP, again, ,due to the lost productivity caused by employees spending all their time trying to fuel these things up. In the meantime there is a surplus or petroleum, and the Saudis are pointing out high crude and gasoline prices are caused by commodity speculators.
Taylor
Parkway Chevrolet in Tomball can fit certain vehicles to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) or bi-fuel gasoline/CNG. The price to do that for a Tahoe was given as about $10,000. The EPA only allows certain certified engines to be used and I understand it costs the engine manufacturer (GM in this case) about $100,000 to do that. Compressed natural gas is available to the public at the Texas Highway Dept. location on Washington just north of I-10 and I think one other place in town.
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On Kuykendall south of 1960. I have heard the HPD used to have some CNG vehicles that used that station and by the time they made the round trip from downtown they had burned off half a tank.
ex
I know of one years ago that took several hours may have been the compressor that was used though
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Once you get under the hood, rassle with the equipment, get the gas to stop spewing all over the place, not much longer than a regular car.
There are several outfits in Fort Worth that will convert certain For and GM engines for about $3500 when I check last summer.
As for engine wear, all it takes are hardened valve seats to side step that.
And for the last time… we have 2500 TRILLION cubic feet of it under the ground in the good ole USA… screw the Koch’s and the Saudis, et al
GIVE EM HELL T BOONE!!!!
why not have a pump kit to fill it up at your house if you already have natural gas? Then you can pay for the gas monthly.
Methane fueled vehicle are coming obstruction or no obstruction. Methane is getting cheaper and will continue to do so despite Obama. Home fueling stations will come way down from $3,500 , massed produced no reason home fueling stations should cost more than a few hundred dollars, a lot less complex than lawn mowers. So will the retrofitting cost, but best to buy new.
I see no reason to have to subsidize Methane fuel vehicles let just cut the subsidization of electric cars and let the best fueled car win. Electric cars, subsidy or no subsidy, are going to lose out to Methane fuel because of cost batteries, the cheapness of methane and extra weight burden electric car must carry.
As of now a methane car has almost double the range of an electric and that is going double or triple again .
A dual fueled, methane/ gasoline are already a lot cheaper than electric. Electric cars are triple losers, Cost, lack of range and weight. It is more than just weight of the battery; it is the weight support structure for battery and then the extra weight of crash protection structure. Aluminum and/ or plastic cars are coming and the extra weight of any electric car will come at very dear additional price.
Once the avalanche new methane cars start, you can expect new methane cars to cost the same as gasoline cars. Duel fueled will still cost more. As for current short range of 185 mile that is longer than an electric by far.
Burning gas or coal in a power plant to make electricity, then transmitting the power entails more lost energy. Then electrics have cost of battery and its life. It is a lot more efficient just burn the methane in the car rather than a power plant.
As for the Methane fuel car range, Texas has number excellent Universities and lot of very sharp students than can solve the CNG range problem by finding some mineral or other substance to put in to CGN tank which will adsorb methane and greatly extend the range.
Do not give money to A university to study the problem. Put up a prize for finding something that will double or triple the current range. Put up A prize of million dollars or better $10 million, the more the prize money the more experimenters who will become involved and the sooner the problem will be solved.
One can get the funding from companies like Apache or better ask Apache to ask number of those involved in gas exploration and production for a donation for the prize so no one gets stuck for it all unless they want the advertizing. No reason $50 million could not be raised.
The methane storge problem may already have been solved but for gotten. I remember a picture of man and his wife standing by a very large sedan, 50 or 60 years ago, and pointing to where the tank was, and saying (in print) that the substance was only one time cost of $0.50 for tank full. Gasoline was very cheap and methane never really got off the ground.
I remember the name Vermiculite. Whatever it was , it was very cheap. Vermiculite is very light and crumbly with lots surface. Vermiculite was used for insulation and in gardens to lighten the soil and hold water.
Then some forms of Vermiculite were found to contain asbestos and use of Vermiculite was abandoned. Somewhere in something like hand book of Physics and Chemistry there are probably gas adsorption studies.
For the record I was for methane fuel vehicle long before Pickens showed up. I joined Pickens gas group only find very little information except anointment of Pickens and I tried to disenroll without success. Then found that all Pickens really wanted was subsidies and monopoly for his methane fueling stations. I suppose there is more that I would not like but sooner Pickens disappears from the methane vehicle scene the better it be for the USA.
Texas can lead the USA off of non North American oil imports. Please do. Thank you MethaneNow@gmail.com