A Great Week in Utah for Natural Gas!

This past week we had two natural gas station openings, a L/CNG station in Salt Lake City and CNG station in Washington City! It's great to see the increase of stations over the past year, and we're excited about more to come. Check out the pictures below from the L/CNG station opening!

Southern Director, Robin Erickson with CH4/Blu President, Merritt Norton.

Northern Director, Carrie Giles with Senator Hatch.

Ribbon cutting ceremony with the Salt Lake Chamber.

Washington City CNG Station Grand Opening!

Don't miss the Washington City CNG station grand opening tomorrow!

WHEN: Thursday, March 24, 2011 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

WHERE: Washington City Public Works

1305 E. Washington Dam Road, Washington City, Utah 84780

Utah's First LNG Station Grand Opening

Utah's first LNG station opened today at the Flying J Travel Plaza, 2025 South 900 West SLC. Senator Hatch and Governor Herbert spoke about the energy independence natural gas brings to the state of Utah. A post later this week will highlight the event!

Check out the below article published by Forbes, or view it here.

"First natural gas refueling station opens in Utah."

SALT LAKE CITY -- The first liquefied natural gas station in Utah opened Tuesday at the junction of two interstate freeways.

The station will likely become an important hub for two planned LNG corridors for long-haul trucks in the western U.S., said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. It is located near a Salt Lake City interchange between I-80, which goes east across the country to New York and west to San Francisco, and I-15 running north through Idaho and Montana into Canada and south to Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

"Using more natural gas in our transportation sector will make us more competitive as a nation," Hatch said during a ceremony to open the station. "Natural gas is clean, it's abundant, it's affordable and it's American."

Along with five hoses for LNG service, the station will offer 12 hoses for compressed natural gas that is more commonly used by passenger cars and light-duty trucks, said Merritt Norton, chief executive officer for CH4 Energy, the company that will operate the station.

Utah already has good infrastructure for CNG vehicles, with more than two dozen stations open, Norton said. Many of those are along I-15.

Norton said natural gas burns cleaner than fuel and is non-toxic, which he proved by downing a glass of water mixed with LNG.

Because it is domestic, natural gas provides energy independence and boosts the economy, said Utah Gov. Gary Herbert. But he cautioned that natural gas supplies depend on access to gas wells.

Although many people think protecting the environment and developing resources are mutually exclusive, proper "stewardship of the earth" requires some concessions, Herbert said.

"If we can't drill, if we can't access the natural gas in our public lands, we can't have it here," he said.

The station was partially funded by a $3 million grant from federal stimulus funds given to the Utah Clean Cities Coalition, said Carrie Gilles, the coalition's northern director.

The U.S. Department of Energy says 40 other LNG stations are open in the U.S., 32 of them in California.

Is Natural Gas Right for your Fleet?

Free Webinar | March 22, 2011 | 2:00pm ET

With diesel prices rising and the possibility of record diesel prices by summer, Truckload Carriers Association and Fleet Owner are presenting a series of Webcasts on alternative power options. Please join us for the first Webcast in this series: Is natural gas fuel right for your fleet? The Webcast, sponsored by Clean Energy, will feature three very special guest speakers: Jeff Shefchik, president, Paper Transport Inc., John Snell, managing director of Risk Management Inc. and consultant Robert Hall retired from UPS. They will provide guidelines for evaluating natural gas vehicles as an option and answer your questions about natural gas vehicles today, including:

• The costs and benefits of using natural gas
• Fueling options and strategies
• Maintaining natural gas vehicles
• Real-world fleet experiences with natural gas vehicles and the lessons learned
• Emissions regulations, sustainability and natural gas
• Financial incentives for adding natural gas vehicles to your fleet


Register at this link! http://bit.ly/fVHbUP

Washington City Opens Natural Gas Refueling Station

WASHINGTON, UTAH – Utah motorists and others who drive vehicles powered by clean-burning natural gas will celebrate the opening of a new natural gas (CNG) fueling station in Washington City on Thursday, March 24, 2011. Washington City Chamber of Commerce will cut the ribbon at 11:00 a.m.

“This partnership effort was made possible from a grant through the Department of Energy,” said Robin Erickson, Southern Central Director of Utah Clean Cities. “This grant will provide Washington City the ability to convert their fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG) and provide a CNG refueling station open to the public."

Washington City Mayor Kenneth Neilson has been waiting for the opportunity to move to a cleaning burning fleet. “We are excited about our fleet using the cleanest burning fuel made in Utah,” said Mayor Nielson. “We are building a better future for our city to grow and build upon, saving money, breathing easier and protecting the environment.”

When asked to comment, Senator Hatch said, “Natural gas is helping our state and country reduce its dependency on foreign oil. Natural gas is abundant, affordable and domestic, and using more of it in our vehicles will make America stronger. I applaud Washington City for its fine leadership in moving energy independence forward.”

"We are so proud of Washington City and Mayor Neilson for leading the way in the southern part of the state showing others how to effectively use an abundant American-made fuel,” said Ted Wilson, Senior Advisor on Environmental Matters.

State Senator Stephen Urquhart said, “We’re fortunate that Utah’s legislators and regulators value clean air and the use of domestic fuel enough to help keep natural gas for vehicles priced at an attractive rate.” The pump price for natural gas is only $1.27. Today we celebrate the 33rd public access NGV refueling station in Utah.

Date and Time: Thursday, March 24, 2011 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: Washington City Public Works
1305 E. Washington Dam Road, Washington City, Utah 84780

Natural Gas 360: Advancing America's Energy Solution

The Colorado Gas and Oil Association (COGA) shares insight and intelligence from some of the world’s best and brightest natural gas energy experts, analysts, and players.

Their insights make it clear that increased natural gas usage stands to fully benefit the United States. The diverse perspectives are designed to stimulate further conversations and collaborations; and, hopefully, this will build even more momentum for natural gas while enhancing its potential as a vibrant national energy source.

Message from Tisha Schuller (COGA President & CEO)

Please see the below link for the full report.

http://data.memberclicks.com/site/coga/Natural%20Gas%20360%20Final.pdf

Display a Company Booth at the Upcoming L/CNG Station Grand Opening!

Interested in displaying a booth at the upcoming L/CNG station grand opening on March 22nd? This is a great way to get information about your company out to the general public.

The event will take place from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. with a press conference featuring guest speaker Governor Herbert from 11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

The station is located at 2025 S 900 W Salt Lake City, UT 84104.

A quote about the station from CH4 Energy CEO Merritt Norton:

"Utah is the only state in the country where a significant proportion of average citizens drive natural-gas vehicles, and this station—which is strategically located at the crossroads of the West, at the intersection of Interstate 80 and Interstate 15, as well as the major highway, Utah Highway 201—will provide public access to the fastest and most convenient fill up in North America for both CNG and LNG natural-gas vehicles.”

If you are interested in displaying a booth, please contact marcia.homer@utahcleancities.org

CNG Classes in Utah

Gasoline prices are climbing and CNG prices are dropping... NOW is the time to prepare for your future!

Alternative Fuels Training Outreach and Education's next CNG class will begin Monday March 28th and end that Friday April 4th. You must be signed up no later than March 18th.

Please sign up at www.AFTOE.org.

If you live in Utah please ask how you can earn $500 grant for the class!

Utah's First LNG Station will Open March 22nd

CH4 Energy Corporation (CH4 Energy) will open Utah’s first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) gas station on March 22 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., with a press conference featuring Governor Herbert at 11 a.m. An open house with vehicle demos, information, giveaways and more throughout the event.

The station, developed with funding support from a Utah Clean Cities Coalition administered, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant, is co-located on an existing travel plaza, 2025 S 900 W Salt Lake City. The station will dispense Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and LNG faster than any public Natural Gas fueling station in North America. Clean, domestic natural-gas vehicle fuels have the potential to have a significant positive impact on air quality in the state of Utah and the United States. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that North America has well over a 100 year supply of clean natural gas.

The station will accept all major fleet fueling cards as well as consumer credit cards and the Utah state-fleet fueling card. The station will be open 365 days per year, 24 hours a day, with access to all the modern amenities of a state-of-the-art travel plaza. The station was designed from the ground up to provide ultra-fast freeway access to natural-gas vehicle fuels for every type of vehicle from the Honda Civic all the way up to the largest Class 8 tandem- and triple-trailer truck combinations. The station has separate ingress and egress lanes for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles.