Improved service coming soon to city CNG fueling station
Soon customers at Norman’s municipal CNG fueling station will be able to fill their cars and trucks more quickly, thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments.
Norman’s city-owned CNG fueling station is ranked 10th in Oklahoma for total volume throughput, according to ONG. The city also owns and operates 84 CNG vehicles and has saved $1.35 million using compressed natural gas.
The station at 2351 Goddard Ave. is open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Truck driver Tim Lusk, with Schwartz Ready Mix, is a regular customer.
“They run so much quieter than diesel-powered,” Lusk said. “The CNG is cleaner fuel. It’s good for the environment.”
Bbig trucks like the one Lusk drives can use a lot of fuel, causing city compressors to work hard to catch up. During peak hours, that can be a problem.
Fleet Superintendent Mike White oversaw the construction of the CNG fueling station and worked with the city’s Public Works team to get grants for the facility and for many city vehicle purchases.
He said the ACOG grant will allow the city to increase storage of the compressed gas, relieving pressure on the city’s compressors and providing better service during peak hours.
The upgrade also will save on the fueling station’s electricity bill.
“On a CNG vehicle, you connect a high-pressure hose to a high-pressure connection on the vehicle that couples together before you can fuel them,” White said. “Our station was dispensing so much fuel, the compressors were running more than we should.”
Many of the city vehicles hook up to a slow-fill connection that allows them to fuel up overnight. Other vehicles, including the public, use the fast-fill service, which works similar to any gas station pump.
Fast-fill customers weren’t always getting a complete fill because storage of the pressurized gas was exceeded.
Here’s how the fast-fill system works. The city has a metered gas connection with ONG. The gas runs through large compressors, which pressurize the gas before it is stored under pressure, waiting for vehicles to fill their tanks. If those storage units are emptied, the compressors have to work to refill them.
If demand outpaces storage and compression, some vehicles might not get a complete fill. The upgrade will more than double the current storage capacity, allowing the city to meet peak hour expectations.
Large demand is a good problem to have, White said of the successful city fueling station.
That success may seem overnight, but the planning and work behind the fueling station took at least three years.
The Norman City Council adopted Norman’s Alternative Fuel Program on Feb. 17, 2009. At that time, unleaded fuel prices were approaching $4 per gallon and the city’s fuel costs were over budget by $1 million, according to city staff reports. The fuel cost wasn’t the only thing driving the switch to CNG.
Former Mayor Cindy Rosenthal said the Alternative Fuel Program and the CNG fueling station were aspects of the commitment to green initiatives that now thread through all city departments.
“It’s a much cleaner burning fuel. It’s seen as a transitional fuel,” Rosenthal said. “It has a lighter carbon footprint.”
While many governmental fleets across the nation now have CNG vehicles, public access to CNG fueling stations can be limited.
“The barrier has been infrastructure,” Rosenthal said. “It seemed to make sense for the city to make a commitment. Even with gas prices much lower, it still makes sense environmentally.”
On Jan. 9, 2012, Norman opened its $2.1 million CNG fueling facility. Funded mostly by grants, the city’s share of the fueling station cost was $507,033.
As part of the Alternative Fuel Program, the city envisioned a CNG Slow Fill Facility, a CNG Fast Fill Facility with public access and enlarging the number of city-owned CNG vehicles. That’s a vision that has come to pass and continues to expand.
Since the Alternative Fuel Program’s inception, Norman has been awarded $963,980 through seven ACOG Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grants. The city also received more than $1.4 million through the American Recovery and Reimbursement Act.
Norman’s fleet now includes refuse trucks, street sweepers, pickup trucks, sedans, generators and mowers.
“They’re way easier to operate,” city driver Kyle Barksdale said of the CNG trash truck he navigates through Norman streets. “They don’t smoke.”