Natural Gas Fuels Department of Energy's National Energy Technology
Laboratory's Government Vehicles

By Julianne Klara

Chances are, if you have used a National Energy Technology Laboratory's
(NETL) government car in the last few months for local travel or to
drive between sites, you have driven on natural gas. Since operating on
natural gas "feels" no different than driving on gasoline, you probably
didn't notice. Even if you didn't fuel the vehicle with natural gas or
put the dashboard switch in the natural gas position, you were probably
still driving economically and friendly to the environment. That's
because our property management group makes a conscious effort to flip
the switch and refill with natural gas---before you even get in the car.

To meet the requirements of the Energy Policy Act (EPACT), NETL has been
working diligently to increase the number of alternative-fueled vehicles
in the fleets. EPACT requires, for federal and commercial fleets with
more than 100 cars, that 75% of all new acquisitions (including leases)
be alternative-fueled vehicles. Rick Price, NETL's Property Management
Officer, is responsible for our fleet vehicles, and he has been steadily
replacing our gasoline-fueled cars and trucks with vehicles that operate
on compressed natural gas (CNG) or other alternative fuels. NETL has
about 16 "bi-fueled" vehicles---bi-fueled because they operate on both
CNG and gasoline. When the natural gas fuel is used up, the car
automatically switches to the tank holding traditional gasoline. NETL
also has 7 dedicated CNG vehicles that are primarily used on-site, and
about 8 "flexible-fueled" vehicles that can run on ethanol instead of
gasoline. You have probably driven in one of these alternative-fueled
cars or trucks if you have taken a ride in a Ford Contour, Dodge
Caravan, or Ford Pickup. And more vehicles are being added each year.

Some \"model\" employees fill these cars with CNG when the cylinders are
empty, but most of us refill with what we are most familiar \...
gasoline. If we are truly to be the Strategic Center for Natural Gas, we
need to do a better job of using natural gas in these vehicles whenever
possible. Using natural gas saves the government money because natural
gas is currently about half the cost of gasoline on a gallon-equivalent
basis. Because it is such a clean-burning fuel, natural gas also reduces
the amount of air-borne pollution in our own backyard. And displacing
gasoline that is made from foreign oil with domestic natural gas helps
to achieve energy security for the country.

But.... How do you refuel a natural gas vehicle? Will it be too
difficult or inconvenient? Is the procedure the same as refueling with
gasoline? Can you get CNG at the local gas station? Should you be afraid
of running out of fuel if you use CNG? Is using CNG safe?

I had all these same questions, so recently I took a ride with Rick
Price in a bi-fueled Ford Contour. We were driving on natural gas when
we started on our trip. The only sure way to know which fuel the car is
operating on is to look at the indicator switch on the dashboard.
(PHOTO-MVC-0011F) When the switch is in the CNG position **and** the
green light is on, the car is running on CNG. If the green light is out,
or the switch is in the gasoline position, the car is using fuel from
the gasoline tank.

The gas gauge showed that the CNG cylinder was almost on empty, so we
headed to a public CNG station to refuel. When we were a few miles from
the refueling station, the vehicle ran out of natural gas and
automatically switched to gasoline. The green light in the dashboard
switch turned off. I noticed a slight hesitation, almost as if the car
was having a little trouble shifting into gear, but otherwise the switch
to gasoline was almost undetectable. The gas gauge then moved from
"empty" to "full" indicating that we had plenty of gasoline in the
vehicle.

It's important to note that when you are driving in a bi-fueled vehicle,
the same gas gauge is used to tell you the amount of fuel that is either
in the natural gas cylinder or the gasoline tank. It just depends on the
position of the dashboard switch, and whether the green light is lit. If
the gauge indicates "empty," it may mean that the vehicle is out of only
one of the fuels. You may still have a full tank of gasoline if you were
running on CNG....or, if you were running on gasoline, you may still
have a full cylinder of CNG.

The car automatically switches from CNG to gasoline, but it cannot do
the opposite. If you are low on gasoline, you can manually switch to CNG
using the dashboard switch, but you have to turn the car off first.
Actually, you can switch between fuels whenever you like as long as you
first stop the car and turn off its motor. Once the car is turned on,
moving the position of the switch does nothing.

When we arrived at the public natural gas refueling station, I learned
just how easy it is to refuel with CNG. It is a little different, but
once you do it, it's a piece of cake. Of course, you must turn off the
car before refueling. It doesn't matter what position the dashboard
switch is in when you refuel, so I left the switch on the CNG position.
First, I slid the card through the card reader and entered the mileage
(the same thing you do when you refuel with gasoline). (PHOTO-MVC-006F)
Then I connected the nozzle to the car's CNG connector.
(PHOTO-MVC-0012F) This is a little different that refueling with
gasoline since CNG is delivered under high pressure, as a gas, and
requires a closed connection. All I had to do was attach the nozzle to
the vehicle connection and close the clasp. (PHOTO-MVC-007F) Then I
pressed "start" on the pump and the car refueled in about 2 minutes. You
can see that at the public refueling station, I paid 82 cents per
equivalent gallon compared to the \$1.50 that I paid that morning for
gasoline in my personal vehicle. (PHOTO-MVC-008F)

When you fill the car with CNG, you have to use the correct credit card.
Most gasoline stations accept the Voyager card for both gasoline and
CNG. However, CNG is often only available at a dedicated natural gas
station that requires the use of the gas utility's own company card. The
two cards used in our area are the Columbia gas card and the Equitable
gas card (called NGV). Both of these cards, and the traditional Voyager
card, are in the motor pool vehicles. (PHOTO-MVC-009F) Just identify
which gas company is supplying the fuel to know which card to use.

Where are these refueling stations? Well, they really aren't that far
from either of the sites. The two natural gas refueling stations closest
to the Pittsburgh site are at Ginger Hill (right off of route 136) and
on Route 88 in Bethel Park. The Ginger Hill site is an Equitable Gas
public station (it accepts the NGV card), and the Route 88 site is a
Columbia Gas public station (it accepts the Columbia card). In
Morgantown, Joe Moore's Exxon Station on Monongahela Boulevard and BFS
Foods on Fairmont Road in Westover both have natural gas, and both
accept the Voyager card. If you are traveling farther, you can check the
alternative fuels web site at
[www.fleets.doe.gov](http://www.fleets.doe.gov/), which lists
refueling/recharging stations all throughout the United States.

The Pittsburgh site also has two natural gas slow-fill units on-site
down at the 900 lower complex. It takes about 8 hours to refill using
these "fuelmakers," so the vehicles are usually hooked up over night.
NETL is investigating the option of putting a quick-fill unit in at one
or both sites, especially as we steadily increase the number of natural
gas fueled vehicles in the motor pool.

Some of you may worry that natural gas will not provide enough vehicle
range. However, most of the bi-fueled vehicles in our motor pool have a
range of 100--150 miles on CNG, which is usually enough to make a round
trip between the sites. But you really shouldn't let this be a concern
as long as the gasoline tank is full. It will provide the backup fuel in
case the trip cannot be completed on CNG.

Some people are leery of the CNG cylinder because they think it is not
safe. To the contrary, I have seen videos where even bullets could not
penetrate the cylinder. Additionally, each vehicle is equipped with a
manual shut-off valve if for any reason you need to stop the flow of
CNG. CNG is no more dangerous than the tank of gasoline that sits under
your car. In fact, with all the safeguards, CNG may actually be a safer
fuel for vehicle use.

So next time you take a government vehicle, check to see if you are
running on natural gas (the fuel indicator switch will be turned on and
the green light will be lit). If you aren't, and the tank is empty,
don't be afraid to fuel it. It isn't hard and the refueling stations are
only a few extra minutes out of the way. If you would like a
demonstration on refueling with natural gas, just call the property
management group. This group is also in the process of developing a CNG
refueling procedure that will be posted on the intranet and made
available in all alternative-fueled vehicles for reference while
refueling.

If, as the SCNG, we want to push natural gas a clean fuel for the
future, we need to "walk the walk." We all need to do a better job of
opting to refuel and drive on natural gas. Why not run these vehicles
first on CNG, and let the vehicles switch to gasoline on their own when
the natural gas is gone? This way, we get the maximum benefits...cleaner
air, cheaper fuel, and less dependence on imported oil. So try it next
time...not only to save taxpayer dollars, but to make our environment
cleaner, and our country's energy future more secure....for our kids and
grandkids.

![](media/image1.jpeg){width="1.78125in" height="1.375in"} *Both the
Columbia and Equitable gas cards, and the traditional Voyager card, are
in the motor pool vehicles. Just identify which gas company is supplying
the fuel to know which card to use.*

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="1.78125in" height="1.3541666666666667in"}
*You can see that at the public refueling station, I paid 82 cents per
equivalent gallon compared to the \$1.50 I pad that morning for gasoline
in my personal vehicle.*

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="1.78125in" height="1.375in"} *The only
sure way to know which fuel the car is operating on is to look at the
indicator switch on the dashboard. When the switch is in the CNG
position **and** the green light is on, the car is running on CNG. If
the green light is out, or the switch is in the gasoline position, the
car is using fuel from the gasoline tank.*

![](media/image4.jpeg){width="1.78125in" height="1.3541666666666667in"}
*It doesn't matter what position the dashboard switch is in when you
refuel, so I left the switch on the CNG position. I slid the card
through the card reader and entered the mileage---the same thing you do
when you refuel with gasoline.*

![](media/image5.jpeg){width="1.78125in" height="1.375in"} *Then I
connected the nozzle to the car's CNG connector. This is a little
different than refueling with gasoline since CNG is delivered under high
pressure, as a gas, and requires a closed connection.*

![](media/image6.jpeg){width="1.78125in" height="1.3645833333333333in"}
*All I had to do was attach the nozzle to the vehicle connection and
close the clasp. Then I pressed "start" on the pump an the car refueled
in about 2 minutes.*