[thackney]

A short excerpt due to AP source.

There is more detail at link.

[thackney]

GE, Chesapeake to develop natural-gas fueling infrastructure
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/03/07/ge-chesapeake-to-develop-natural-gas-fueling-infrastructure/

Link only due to Bloomberg Source

[OB1kNOb]

I admit ignorance of the mechanics of the subject, but how easy, hard, cheap, expensive is it to convert an existing gasoline engine to use natgas, butane, propane? It’s really the only viable alternative to gasoline and diesel that I see in the foreseeable future, but that’s JMO.

[The Great RJ]

I remember years ago there were propane conversion kits for cars that were not all that expensive and basically bolted on to your carburetor. I'm not sure if such retrofit kits are still available for today's electronic fuel injected vehicles.

[arkady_renko]

Westport Innovations is doing good work with this. Announced a deal with Ford yesterday to supply a dual fuel system in F250's and F350's. Here is a link:

Wesport WING Power Systems

Good company to watch with stock at about $40 a share yesterday. They signed a big deal with Cummins and have systems to work with heavy equipment.

[DTogo]

Nat-gas powered taxis in Tokyo have been around for a long time.

[thackney]

Ford Transit Connect CNG taxis starting to swing into action across U.S.
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/09/10/ford-transit-connect-cng-taxi/
Sep 10th 2011

The next time you hail a cab in Los Angeles, CA you could be jumping into the back seat of a vehicle that’s fueled by clean-burning compressed natural gas (CNG). That’s because California Yellow Cab of Orange County has become the state’s first taxi company to put CNG-fueled Ford Transit Connect vans into service. California Yellow Cab says ten (and soon more than 120) natural gas Connects are on the roads and ready to pick up passengers in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

Meanwhile, over in Chicago, Taxi Medallion Management says it has a dozen Ford Transit Connect CNG taxis in service. And in Connecticut, two cab companies are waiting on Ford to fulfill orders for 70 CNG-fueled Transit Connect Taxis.

Later on, CNG-burnin’ Transits will ship out to Las Vegas, NV and St. Louis, MO. Philadelphia, PA is expected to get in on the CNG action, too, once city officials there approve natural gas machines for taxi duty.

[citizen]

I don’t understand why the national trucking industry, with federal prodding and tax incentives, isn’t moving toward converting to natural gas.

It can and should be a couple of decades or so process. I would envision converting the long haul carriers and cross-country movers, like Allied Van Lines, first. Interstate truck stops would be ideal locations to begin developing a national network of natural gas commercial terminals. Once in place at truck stops, selling natural gas powered passenger cars and trucks would begin to make more sense.

At some point the large commercials such as Kroger, USPS, Walmart, etc. could probably provide natural gas terminals for their vehicles at their maintenance facilities. Newly constructed gasoline stations could begin offering natural gas. QuikTrip could probably just do it at their hundreds (thousands?) of locations.

Again, there probably would need to be federal, state and perhaps local tax incentives to speed the process along.

Anyway, what’s the deal? Is it simply political at the moment? We probably need to get Republicans in control to get the natural gas flowing. Obama and his ilk are too much into wasting $billions of taxpayer dollars on green energy schemes that don’t work.

[nascarnation]

I heard a guy on CNBC quote Waste Management (the trash truck guys) saying one year payback on their rigs switching diesel to nat gas.

The folks who can put in a fueling rig at their home base facility will be the ones doing it first I think.

Obviously as diesel skyrockets in price the decision gets easier.

[norwaypinesavage]

For clarity, there seem to be three fuel sources discussed here that some are mixing together:
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), the apparent fuel discussed most in the article. It requires 4000 psi storage tanks.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). It must be stored in cryogenic containers at -260 degrees F.
Propane. It can be stored in fairly light weight tanks at below 300 psi. It is a by product of petroleum production and so has somewhat limited supply. It has roughly 2/3 the energy by weight and volume as gasoline.

All three systems require unique tanks, distribution systems, and carburetors, though nothing has to be invented to use them in production vehicles.

[Osage Orange]

I read these things and laugh........

I finished concrete for a short time...in SoCal...in the late 70's. We had a couple trucks that were gas / Natgas equipped. We would switch the fuel to Natgas..on the FRWY..and pray that it would work. It generally did....

I guess my point is...we've had the technology for quite some time.