Navistar is stepping up production of CNG vehicles. The average large diesel vehicle will save $27,000 a year running on CNG rather than diesel. That’s enough to make it happen. Without help from Washington, which is still pushing the Volt. GM just sold 1,200 vehicles to AT&T, it’s largest order to date.
Pilot Flying J is going to convert 150 of it’s truck stops to CNG fueling.
It’s truly amazing what the free market can do. Give business people a chart like the one above and they will figure out how to take advantage of a huge cost differential. It would have happened sooner, but the business community feared Obama would stop fracking and the natural gas boom would go away. Now, the business community doesn’t fear Obama at all since the clock is running out on this president.
The differential will shrink over time. Less demand for diesel will bring diesel prices down. But, the transportation industry has been victimized by fickle crude prices for years. They will feel more comfortable with natural gas produced here and not subject to global demand. Remember, many US refineries, not closed, are 100 years old here. That, too, is eliminated by CNG, which is not a refined product.
Will automobiles be far behind? Yes, but how far depends on the cost curve. It costs about $5,000 more to produce a CNG automobile. It costs $5,000 to get a garage wall CNG unit to hook up to your in-home gas line. It takes 6 hours to fuel with that unit. The CNG tank in the car is heavier. Hence, it cuts down on mileage. It could cost as much as $500,000 to install a full complement of CNG pumps at a $2 million retail gas convenience store. Quick Trip is installing one in Wisconsin. All of these costs will go down over time.
First, the local fleets that fuel at a depot, will convert. This is happening quickly. Truck manufacturers will sell new trucks that run on CNG. That’s happening now. Truck stops like Flying J and Love’s will put in CNG. They will place them strategically so any truck traveling across country can make it without refueling issues. Pioneers will buy cars that run on CNG. If they have multiple vehicles, they will refuel in their homes and use another vehicle for trips. Or, fuel at the truck stops. It’s no different than diesel cars and their fueling issues.
It’s all happening but you don’t see it or hear much about it. The Liberal Media is not in favor of this. They don’t want to embarrass their beloved president, Mr. Volt. The environmentalists are not for it. Despite the fact that CNG is clean burning. It’s still a fossil fuel, and clean or not, fossil fuels are bad.
All this will do for you, the taxpayer, is increase employment, improve the domestic economy, reduce foreign oil dependence, clean up the air, reduce the cost of goods sold, increase tax revenue, and get new people in Washington who understand all of the above.
Or, you could invest more of your tax dollars in Solyndra.
