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4.15.09 M.U.D. urging people to fill up using natural gas The hassle of filling up your tank for $3.56, $2.89, or even $2.04 a gallon could soon be gone. Thanks to cars like the Honda Civic, and the fuel that makes them go -- natural gas. "Natural gas is abundant! We have over 100 years of supplies, and we are discovering more all the time!" said Alan Hersch with the Black Hills Energy Company. "With the fuel today, we could have fueled your car for 49 cents a gallon -- this last month with the price of natural gas," said Doug Clark with Metropolitan Utilities District. Today, a workshop was held on UNO's campus to encourage local businesses to fill up their vehicles -- like school busses and dump trucks with natural gas."Natural gas is definitely an option that should be considered -- primarily for fleet vehicle operators," said Hersch. Not only will it cut down on fuel costs, but it will also cut down on air pollution. "Almost all pollutants are 25 percent more reduced when you use natural gas for fuel," said Clark. In Omaha, M.U.D. is leading the way with a fleet of 62 natural gas powered vehicles. "We're using 40,000 gallons of natural gas a year -- in a 10-year period, we've reduced foreign oil use by 2,050 barrels of oil," said Clark. With hundreds of thousands of cars on Nebraska roadways, MUD is looking to the future -- they hope to have the first natural gas fueling station up and running by the end of next year. "The cost of a fueling station is $400,000 -- so it's not a cheap situation. We have to build demand for that," said Clark. "Overseas, there are millions of vehicles on the road using natural gas. We need to catch up here in the Midwest," said Hersch. Right now, the Honda Civic is the only car being sold in the United States that uses natural gas. It retails around $25,000 dollars. If you happen to buy one, you'll have to install your own natural gas tank until M.U.D. has theirs up and running. |
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