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Two fleet trucks fill up at the Shell station on Railroad Avenue and First Street Wednesday morning. In the future, the fleet trucks may be able to use natural gas instead of conventional fuel when the station puts in a CNG pump.
Already considered a front-runner in the state in the use of clean energy, the city of Rifle will get even greener with the construction of a compressed natural gas (CNG)filling station to help increase the use of natural gas as transportation fuel.
Rifle is the recipient of one of two grants totaling nearly $800,000 recently announced by Gov. Bill Ritter The station will be the first one built on the Western Slope.
The Recovery Act-supported grants will also help to create and retain jobs and increase energy independence.
“Fueling fleets and heavy-duty vehicles with compressed natural gas (CNG) creates another market for Colorado's homegrown energy and continues to advance the state as a national leader in the New Energy Economy,” Ritter said. “These grants will make it easier for local governments and energy companies to fuel their vehicles with CNG, reducing the use of foreign oil and increasing our energy independence, while also making our air cleaner.”
A $675,285 grant was given to Rocky Mountain Alternative Fueling (RMAF) to develop a fueling station and associated infrastructure in Rifle. The station will be located at the Shell Station on the corner of First Street and Railroad, owned by Kirk Swallow of Swallow Oil. The station will offer a separate CNG pump that can be used by fleet and heavy-duty vehicles. The CNG station in Rifle will serve the public, including the CNG-powered fleet vehicles owned by the city of Rifle, Garfield County, Colorado Mountain College and some of the gas companies, including Swallow Oil, Barrett, Williams Production and EnCana Oil & Gas, USA. A second CNG station is slated for development by the RMAF in Parachute.
“The city of Rifle received grant funding through the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative to make three fleet vehicle CNG capable,” said Assistant City Manager Matt Sturgeon. “We are currently evaluating available technologies approved for our fleet vehicle types.”
Swallow, who is also a member of the RMAF, said Rifle was picked because typically existing gas stations don't have enough room to add the CNG pump — but the Shell station in Rifle did. He said he hopes to have the tank in place by sometime in November.
“CNG is the cleanest burning fuel that we have in overabundance,” he said. “It makes us less dependent on foreign oil, crude oil and fossil fuels. And it's cost and performance are comparable to (regular) gas.”
Existing vehicles using gasoline can be converted to CNG-capable fuel tanks, or even dual tanks with one using regular gasoline and the CNG, but it's expensive and run anywhere from $13,000 to $19,000 to convert. However, the savings could be substantial down the road. Vehicles such as the Honda Civic GX are dedicated CNG fuel cars. According to NGV America, it is generally not cost-effective to convert an older vehicle unless it has plenty of mileage left and will now be driven enough to recoup the investment in fuel savings.
“I see this as a great opportunity in the future for renewable natural gas,” Swallow said. “We're years behind Europe. But the future of CNG is dependent on how general people of this country are using it.”
Sturgeon pointed out that with the abundance of natural gas in the Rifle area, CNG energy could provide additional jobs.
“With the unknowns surrounding the future of conventional fuel prices, having natural gas as a vehicle option in Rifle and along I-70 is both beneficial to Rifle and the rest of the state,” Sturgeon said. “Additionally, with the vast amount of natural gas found in our region, it makes sense to begin finding ways to utilize this resource regionally. Transportation fuel is a logical regional application. Hopefully, this is just the first step towards developing a more robust supply chain for CNG in Garfield County and the state.”
Rifle is the recipient of one of two grants totaling nearly $800,000 recently announced by Gov. Bill Ritter The station will be the first one built on the Western Slope.
The Recovery Act-supported grants will also help to create and retain jobs and increase energy independence.
“Fueling fleets and heavy-duty vehicles with compressed natural gas (CNG) creates another market for Colorado's homegrown energy and continues to advance the state as a national leader in the New Energy Economy,” Ritter said. “These grants will make it easier for local governments and energy companies to fuel their vehicles with CNG, reducing the use of foreign oil and increasing our energy independence, while also making our air cleaner.”
A $675,285 grant was given to Rocky Mountain Alternative Fueling (RMAF) to develop a fueling station and associated infrastructure in Rifle. The station will be located at the Shell Station on the corner of First Street and Railroad, owned by Kirk Swallow of Swallow Oil. The station will offer a separate CNG pump that can be used by fleet and heavy-duty vehicles. The CNG station in Rifle will serve the public, including the CNG-powered fleet vehicles owned by the city of Rifle, Garfield County, Colorado Mountain College and some of the gas companies, including Swallow Oil, Barrett, Williams Production and EnCana Oil & Gas, USA. A second CNG station is slated for development by the RMAF in Parachute.
“The city of Rifle received grant funding through the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative to make three fleet vehicle CNG capable,” said Assistant City Manager Matt Sturgeon. “We are currently evaluating available technologies approved for our fleet vehicle types.”
Swallow, who is also a member of the RMAF, said Rifle was picked because typically existing gas stations don't have enough room to add the CNG pump — but the Shell station in Rifle did. He said he hopes to have the tank in place by sometime in November.
“CNG is the cleanest burning fuel that we have in overabundance,” he said. “It makes us less dependent on foreign oil, crude oil and fossil fuels. And it's cost and performance are comparable to (regular) gas.”
Existing vehicles using gasoline can be converted to CNG-capable fuel tanks, or even dual tanks with one using regular gasoline and the CNG, but it's expensive and run anywhere from $13,000 to $19,000 to convert. However, the savings could be substantial down the road. Vehicles such as the Honda Civic GX are dedicated CNG fuel cars. According to NGV America, it is generally not cost-effective to convert an older vehicle unless it has plenty of mileage left and will now be driven enough to recoup the investment in fuel savings.
“I see this as a great opportunity in the future for renewable natural gas,” Swallow said. “We're years behind Europe. But the future of CNG is dependent on how general people of this country are using it.”
Sturgeon pointed out that with the abundance of natural gas in the Rifle area, CNG energy could provide additional jobs.
“With the unknowns surrounding the future of conventional fuel prices, having natural gas as a vehicle option in Rifle and along I-70 is both beneficial to Rifle and the rest of the state,” Sturgeon said. “Additionally, with the vast amount of natural gas found in our region, it makes sense to begin finding ways to utilize this resource regionally. Transportation fuel is a logical regional application. Hopefully, this is just the first step towards developing a more robust supply chain for CNG in Garfield County and the state.”
