Natural Gas Vehicles For America

Natural gas vehicles may not be the most talked about type of cars, but they offer a viable alternative to those people looking for independence from fossil fuels. Natural Gas Vehicles for America (NGVAmerica) is a national organization dedicated promoting natural gas vehicles and to develop a growing, sustainable and profitable market for vehicles powered by natural gas or hydrogen.

Natural Gas Vehicles for America represents more than 100 companies interested in the promotion and use of natural gas and hydrogen as transportation fuels, including: engine, vehicle and equipment manufacturers; fleet operators and service providers; natural gas companies; natural gas producers; and environmental groups and government organizations.

According to information on the Natural Gas Vehicles for America website, there are about 110,000 NGVs on U.S. roads today and more than 11 million worldwide. There are more than 1,100 NGV fueling stations in the U.S. � and about half of them are open to the public. In the United States, about 30 different manufacturers produce 100 models of light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles and engines. Natural gas costs, on average, one-third less than conventional gasoline at the pump and it is sold in gasoline gallon equivalents (GGE). A GGE has the same energy content (125,000 BTUs) as a gallon of gasoline without ethanol.

Natural Gas Vehicles for America says vehicular natural gas nearly doubled between 2003 and 2009, now displacing more than 300 million diesel gallon equivalents. Transit buses account for about 66% of all vehicular natural gas use as 18 percent of transit buses run on natural gas. Waste collection and transfer vehicles are the fastest growing NGV segment, accounting for about 11 percent of total vehicular natural gas use. Besides, more than 35 airports in the U.S. have natural gas vehicles in their own fleets and/or have policies encouraging use by private fleets operating on premises, making this sector the third largest with about 9 percent of total vehicular natural gas use. One of the most attractive aspects of natural gas vehicles is that exhaust emissions from lower than those from gasoline-powered vehicles. For example, the natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX is recognized by the U.S. EPA as the cleanest commercially available, internal-combustion vehicle on earth. The Civic GX is rated by the California Air Resources Board as meeting the very stringent AT-PZEV standard. The CNG powered Civic produces 95% fewer emissions of non-methane hydrocarbons, and 75 percent less emissions of nitrogen oxides than its gasoline counterpart. Natural Gas Vehicles for America claims that dedicated NGVs produce little or no evaporative emissions during fueling and use. In gasoline vehicles, evaporative and fuelling emissions account for significant portion of the emission associated with operating a vehicle.

To drivers willing to make a switch to natural gas, replacing a typical older in-use vehicle with a new NGV, Natural Gas Vehicles For America provides the following reductions in exhaust emissions: Carbon monoxide (CO) by 70 to 90 percent; Non-methane organic gas (NMOG) by 50 to 75 percent; Nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 75 to 95 percent; Carbon dioxide (CO2) by 20 to 30 percent. The actual emission benefits of introducing natural gas vehicles into a fleet will vary depending on the type of NGVs used and whether the emission comparison is based on the emissions of the vehicles being replaced or new motor vehicles. Fleets that replace in-use medium and heavy duty diesel vehicles with new natural gas vehicles will see the most significant reductions in emissions since medium and heavy duty trucks put out much more emissions than light duty vehicles.

Finally, Natural Gas Vehicles For America says that natural gas contains less carbon than any other fossil fuel per unit of energy, and thus produces lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per vehicle mile traveled. While NGVs do emit methane, another principle greenhouse gas, any increase in methane emissions is offset by a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions compared to other fuels. Recent analyses estimate that NGVs produce up to 20 - 30 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than comparable diesel and gasoline fueled vehicles.