The planet's current reservoirs of known natural gas are enough to supply the earth's energy needs for the next 250 years. Canada itself has enough to supply the planets energy needs for the next 50 years according to a Vice President with Nevada gas. The world's largest discovery of NG was made in early 2008 at Rawlins Wyoming. The North Atlantic Ocean, Israel, Australia and Russia also have vast supplies of untapped natural gas making it a secure energy source. The US Energy Information Administration projects up to 240 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas could be produced a year from 4 of the 19 major shale formations is the USA. In 2007, the total U.S.natural gas consumption was 23,057,969 (Mcf). (see 9 &10)
If natural gas is available where you live, you can also install a natural gas pump to your home or business allowing you to refuel your vehicle in your garage. Many people already do this. No delivery needed; natural gas is already being delivered to our homes by underground pipelines. Equipment is $3500 - $4500 and installation is about $500. There is also a $1,500 state tax credit available to offset the cost of installation. The South Coast Air Quality Management District in the Los Angeles basin offers a $2,000 rebate on the purchase of a home CNG refueling device. Utah should to do likewise. So depending on how many miles you drive, this could be a great addition. (Google - "Fuel Maker")
CNG is a LOW COST FUEL or it should be. In Utah, as of 07/14/08, CNG is $.85 a gallon statewide; yes, that's .85 cents! In many other states CNG is as high as $3.75 a gallon. Utah, Oklahoma and a couple of other states regulate their natural gas. If Utah were not regulated, we also would be paying about $.50 a gallon less than gasoline, which has been where the petroleum companies and profiteers have pegged CNG's price in many other states. In the past 20 years a few petroleum companies, like Clean Energy, have gone around the country and bought up many of the natural gas suppliers and distributors, in effect, destroying any competition.
The federal government currently allows a $.50 per gallon excise tax credit to all states dispensing CNG for vehicles. From the pricing differences, it's easy to recognize which states are passing that money on to the consumer ( as is the case with Questar and Oklahoma Natural Gas ) and which distributors are gouging the consumer. Also note that under the 2005 congressional energy bill which provided these incentives, the .50 cent tax credit is offset by the same 18 cent tax excise tax which is paid at the pump for gasoline and diesel (until then CNG, LNG, LPG and other alternative fuels were not subject to paying this "road tax"). So the net effect is approximately .32 cents per gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE). This credit is also available to non-taxpaying entities such as local governments and school districts, etc. So we have the interesting situation where many of these entities that are using alternative fuels now are filing for the credit with the IRS, where previously they had no dealings with the IRS whatsoever.
The price of regular gasoline is approximately $4.00 a gallon. The price for CNG is $.85 a gallon in Utah. So the ratio is approximately 5 to 1. So, in terms of the money paid, gasoline costs 5 times more than natural gas, which means that a Ford Crown Victoria that averages 25 mpg gets the financial equivalent of 5 x 25 or 125 mpg on average or in other words, it's like paying the normal price for gasoline, but getting 125 miles per gallon. Now, that's my kind of GREEN$$
CLEAN AIR: Natural gas vehicles show an average reduction in ozone-forming emissions of 80% compared to gasoline or diesel vehicles. The use of CNG vehicles results in less petroleum consumption, and less air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions. Natural gas is not made from petroleum, as gasoline and diesel are. It has a simple, one carbon, molecular structure (CH4) that makes possible its nearly complete combustion. In general, carbon dioxide is exhaled by animals and utilized by plants during photosynthesis.
Physical Properties: Natural gas is flammable; otherwise it could not be used as a fuel for internal combustion and other types of energy. When released into the air or mixed with air in an engine, compressed natural gas becomes flammable only when the mixture is between 5 and 15 percent natural gas. When the mixture is less than 5 percent natural gas (too thin) it doesn't burn. When the mixture is more than 15 percent natural gas (too rich) there is not enough oxygen to allow it to burn. It also has an ignition temperature of approximately 1100 degrees F compared to gasoline and diesel fuel which both have lower concentrations of flammability and much lower temperatures of ignition.
Use it Before it Becomes a Threat? According to the History Channel, one of the Mega Disasters that hangs over our planet is global warming's effect on methane deposits on the sea floor close to the arctic polar ice cap and its effect on permafrost. Those pockets bubble to the surface as our oceans warm and could provide a flammable methane-rich atmosphere in the future. Scientists have proposed drilling into that deposit to tap into the fuels there, but they are meeting opposition from environmentalists. The History Channel cites known methane deposits on planet earth to be about 20,000 million tons. That's two to three times that of the known reserves of petroleum and more being produced every minute by nature. Why not reduce the threat? USE IT!
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Randy writes articles about cng cars and writes article for dual fuel autos
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