page_title: Compressed natural gas
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Compressed natural gas / Worldwide / North America / United States
caption_attribution_description: English: The front of a Compressed natural gas, CNG Trans Filling Station on Brice Road, in Columbus, Ohio during a stormy summer afternoon.
context_page_description: Compressed natural gas is a fuel that can be used in place of gasoline, diesel fuel and liquefied petroleum gas. CNG combustion produces fewer undesirable gases than the aforementioned fuels. In comparison to other fuels, natural gas poses less of a threat in the event of a spill, because it is lighter than air and disperses quickly when released. Biomethane — refined biogas from anaerobic digestion or landfills — can be used.
  CNG is made by compressing natural gas, which is mainly composed of methane, to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of 20–25 MPa, usually in cylindrical or spherical shapes.
  CNG is used in traditional gasoline/internal combustion engine automobiles that have been modified or in vehicles specifically manufactured for CNG use, either alone, with a segregated gasoline system to extend range or in conjunction with another fuel such as diesel.
context_section_description: Similar to Canada, the United States has implemented various NGV initiatives and programs since 1980, but has had limited success in sustaining the market. There were 105,000 NGVs in operation in 2000; this figure peaked at 121,000 in 2004, and decreased to 110,000 in 2009.
  In the United States, federal tax credits are available for buying a new CNG vehicle. Use of CNG varies from state to state; only 34 states have at least one CNG fueling site.
  In Texas, Railroad Commissioner David Porter launched his Texas Natural Gas Initiative in October 2013 to encourage the adoption of natural gas fuel in the transportation and exploration and production sectors. As of 2015 Texas is rapidly becoming a leader in natural gas infrastructure in the US with 137 natural gas fueling stations (private and public). Nine months into FY2015 Commissioner Porter reports Texas CNG, LNG Sales Show 78 Percent Increase Over FY 2014 year to date. Per Commissioner Porter in June 2015: "Natural gas vehicles are becoming mainstream faster than expected. These collections are nearly double the amount collected last year at this time. At 15 cents per gallon equivalent, $3,033,600 of motor fuel tax equates to the sale of 20,224,000 gallon equivalents of natural gas." The $3 million in Texas natural gas tax receipts is for both CNG and LNG for FY2015 through the May 2015. The Texas fiscal year starts Sept 1 so 9 months tax collections are represented.
  In Athens, Ala., the city and its Gas Department installed a public CNG station on the Interstate 65 Corridor, making it the only public CNG station between Birmingham and Nashville as of February 2014. The city's larger fleet vehicles such as garbage trucks also use this public station for fueling. The city also has two slow-fill non-public CNG stations for its fleet. Athens has added CNG/gasoline Tahoes for police and fire, a CNG Honda Civic, CNG Heil garbage trucks, and CNG/gasoline Dodge pickup trucks to its fleet.
  In California, CNG is used extensively in local city and county fleets, as well as public transportation (city/school buses). There are 90 public fueling stations in southern California alone, and travel from San Diego so the Bay Area to Las Vegas and Utah is routine with the advent of online station maps such as www.cngprices.com. Compressed natural gas is typically available for 30-60 percent less than the cost of gasoline in much of California.
  The 28 buses running the Gwinnett County Transit local routes run on 100 percent CNG. Additionally, about half of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority express fleet, which runs and refuels out of the Gwinnett County Transit facility, uses CNG.
  The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority was running 360 CNG buses as early as in 2007, and is the largest user in the state.
  The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) of New York City currently has over 900 buses powered by compressed natural gas with CNG bus depots located in Brooklyn, The Bronx and Queens.
  The Nassau Inter-County Express (or NICE Bus/formerly New York MTA Long Island Bus) runs a 100% Orion CNG-fueled bus fleet for fixed route service consisting of 360 buses for service in Nassau County, parts of Queens, New York, and the western sections of Suffolk County.
  The City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has switched some of the city's vehicles to compressed natural gas in an effort to save money on fuel costs. Trucks used by the city's street and water, sewer and gas departments have been converted from gasoline to CNG.
  Personal use of CNG is a small niche market currently, though with current tax incentives and a growing number of public fueling stations available, it is experiencing unprecedented growth. The state of Utah offers a subsidised statewide network of CNG filling stations at a rate of $1.57/gge, while gasoline is above $4.00/gal.
  Elsewhere in the nation, retail prices average around $2.50/gge, with home refueling units compressing gas from residential gas lines for under $1/gge. Other than aftermarket conversions, and government used vehicle auctions, the only currentl
caption: CNG Fueling Station in Columbus, Ohio
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