Industry News

Tuesday, October 7, 2003

Fueling the future

Clean Energy is building a system of natural-gas stations that are open to the public.

By DIANA McCABE
The Orange County Register

FILL 'ER UP: Along with fellow taxi drivers, Mohammad Navabi, right, of California Yellow Cab takes advantage of free natural gas at the Clean Energy station in Santa Ana. The station, the first for Santa Ana, was offering free fill-ups Monday morning. PAUL E. RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA — The first public natural-gas fueling station in Santa Ana opened Monday, expanding a small network that's meant to make it easier to fuel cars, buses, trucks and shuttles.

The depot — at 3210 S. Maple Ave. — looks like a typical gas station. It has pumps, can refuel as many as four vehicles at once and accepts payment from Visa and MasterCard.

Because it's the closest station to John Wayne Airport, immediate users include natural gas-powered shuttle vans and taxis.

But Clean Energy, a Seal Beach company that provides natural gas for commercial fleets, hopes one day that consumers will use the station - its sixth in Orange County.

Natural gas — essentially what consumers use to heat their homes - has long been touted as a cheaper and cleaner-burning fuel alternative to gasoline.
But sales of natural-gas vehicles to consumers have been hamstrung by the "chicken or egg scenario," said Mitchell Pratt, vice president of business development at privately held Clean Energy, whose major shareholders include T. Boone Pickens.

Consumers won't buy natural-gas vehicles unless they have access to fueling stations, and companies won't open stations until consumers buy the cars, he said.

So Clean Energy is taking the lead in setting up a system. California has 240 natural-gas refueling stations, but only a handful are public. Clean Energy runs 42 — the most — and 30 of those are public.

Stations like the one in Santa Ana — which cost $900,000 to develop — are important because they offer a refueling system for consumers, Pratt said. Clean Energy invested $550,000 in the Santa Ana station. The rest of the money came from the Department of Energy, Ford Motor Co. ,Southern California Gas Co. and the Gas Research Institute.

Most of the 130,000 natural-gas vehicles on the nation's roads are fleet vehicles, says the National Gas Vehicle Coalition. But Clean Energy thinks things may change as automakers begin to target consumers.

Honda will sell a natural-gas powered version of its Civic passenger car to U.S. consumers next year. Sticker price for the Honda Civic GX — including side air bags and antilock brakes — is $21,610. Still being tested is a home refueling device that the company might offer to consumers as well.