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9.15.08 At the starting line The thing looks just like a car -- four wheels, hood, doors, the whole nine yards. But it's more and better: It also looks like the future. The Metropolitan Utilities District has latched onto a real winner. In August, the utility purchased its first car powered by compressed natural gas. This month, it added four more to the M.U.D. fleet. The utility already was operating 66 service vans converted to compressed natural gas several years ago. The natural-gas-powered Honda Civic is a winner for many reasons: Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel, emitting 25 percent less CO 2 than a similar gasoline-powered car while getting the same number of miles per equivalent gallon. There's more. Some 98 percent of natural gas is produced from domestic sources (70 percent of oil is imported), and it costs 6 cents a mile to operate. The rate for a petroleum-fueled car: 15 cents a mile. Here's the capper: M.U.D. officials said the cost of the amount of natural gas equivalent to a gallon of gasoline is $1.52. Moving toward greater use of natural gas will require overcoming several challenges. Natural-gas vehicles have been around for decades, but there's an unfortunate stalemate in trying to move forward: There are few public refueling stations in this country. (The high cost of adding natural-gas pumps thus far has been prohibitive.) Most people don't want to buy a natural-gas-fueled car until they can refuel easily. Hence the daunting Catch-22. At the moment, there are no public refueling stations in either Nebraska or Iowa. M.U.D. and other agencies and companies with natural-gas cars have their own pumps. M.U.D., which is understandably eager to develop the local market, has plans to work with filling station owners and apply for grants to help subsidize both pump installation and the purchase of natural-gas-powered vehicles. It conceivably could own the first station open to the public. Another apparent problem may just be a short-term blip on the radar. The price of natural gas is rising, perhaps as much as 15 percent this winter, M.U.D. officials estimated. Because the high price of petroleum affects natural-gas prices, electric utilities are using more natural gas to produce electricity and imports are down. Last year's cold winter depleted stored supplies. A recent study by Navigant Consulting concluded, however, that the supply of natural gas in North America is growing steadily, with no end in sight. A conservative estimate, the group said, is that enough gas exists for more than 88 years of production at current levels. Producers developing new sources argue that Americans could see a 120-year supply from the fields. The supply has been consistently underestimated, Navigant said, because estimates didn't sufficiently take into account gas production from unconventional sources. Those sources produce gas by new methods of extracting it from shale, for instance. In 1998, extraction from shale accounted for 28 percent of the total natural gas produced; by 2007, the share had increased to 46 percent. Natural gas won't wipe away the nation's energy problems. Indeed, it is a fossil fuel and, as such, sooner or later will be used up. But as part of a multifaceted energy policy, it can serve as a solid bridge, a dependable and affordable alternative that can help the United States as it moves a more sustainable energy policy. M.U.D.'s natural-gas cars are only the beginning. M.U.D. shows potential for natural gas to help energy independence. |
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