Natural Gas as Transportation

Natural gas is a necessary resource on the road to energy independence.  It heats our homes and businesses, and in a compressed form is a potential source of fuel. Natural gas also plays an important part in Alabama's economy.  The state currently allows drilling for natural gas off the Alabama coast and receives a significant amount of money in royalties from these activities.  Alabama's current annual natural gas production accounts for more than 1% of the total U.S. output according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA.)

Natural gas is an essential part of our lives-it has been reported that natural gas is used in over 60 million homes, 78 percent of restaurants, 73 percent of lodging facilities, 51 percent of hospitals, 59 percent of offices, and 58 percent of retail buildings*. Natural gas meets 22% of U.S. energy requirements**. In addition to the traditional uses of natural gas, the idea of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is becoming more and more popular. There are currently an estimated 150,000 natural gas vehicles being used in the United States and over 5 million worldwide***.

As of Sept. 25^th, 2008 the U.S. Department of Energy confirmed that there is only one dedicated natural gas vehicle available in the U.S.-the Honda Civic GX. The Environmental Protection Agency calls it "The cleanest internal-combustion vehicle on Earth.****" However, getting a Honda Civic GX isn't the only way to use CNG. Converting to a duel-fuel vehicle is also an option, but currently can be somewhat costly.

Natural Gas being environmentally friendly isn't the only plus side, in July of 2008 it was reported that CNG costs, on average, $1.57 less than gasoline on a per gasoline gallon equivalent basis*****. But even with the environmental advantages and low costs, it still has its drawbacks. The largest two seem to be the lack of fueling stations around the country (about 1,600 with only 3 being in Alabama), and the space that the gas tank takes away from the trunk of your car. However, we will likely see improvements in both areas and the use of CNG may become an even more desirable alternative source of transportation energy.