Last Thursday I attended an all-day seminar about natural gas vehicles (NGVs). According to Rick Wallace with the state of Oregon, NGV fleets in our
region — including those operated by the Oregon State Department of Administrative Services Motor Pool, Salem-Keizer Transit and Port of Portland — are paying about $1.27 a gas gallon equivalent (GGE) for fuel, not including road taxes. Compressed natural gas, or CNG, is a very interesting alternative to gasoline. For one, the fuel is very available; the United States has a glut of natural gas. Another, more compelling advantage of natural gas is that it is much cleaner burning than gasoline or diesel. All vehicle types, even big 18 wheelers, could be fueled with CNG to produce much less pollution. These vehicles could
be the cleanest-running vehicles on the road. Learn more about this in my July 16 column.