Gasoline substitute gains Bridgeport foothold

BRIDGEPORT — City maintenance worker Jimmy Gonzalez drove his van away from Santa Energy's new $264,750 pump Tuesday on fumes after Mayor John M. Fabrizi filled the tank. It's not that the mayor doesn't know how to operate a pump; Gonzalez drives one of the city's three vehicles that operate on compressed natural gas.
Gonzalez said he's happy to see the change because it is better for the environment.
"It's nice to see it happen," Gonzalez said. "Hopefully, there can be more natural gas or electric cars on the roads."
Until Tuesday, when the city dedicated the new pump on Admiral Street, Gonzalez had to drive the General Motors van to Orange to fill up. There are at least 13 compressed natural gas filling stations in Connecticut, but only four, including the one in Bridgeport, are accessible to the public. To use the CNG pump in Bridgeport, a customer has to get a Santa Energy fuel card, a type of credit card.
The company got involved in the project to help diversify its fuel offerings — it sells gasoline, diesel and biofuels — and, its executives say, because they are concerned about the environment.
Fabrizi was on hand to dedicate the CNG pump and joked after filling up that Gonzalez had "driven it in on fumes" because the van took more than 10 gallons. No one would say exactly how much that cost, but Santa Energy executives said it's about the same cost as gasoline.
Before leaving, Fabrizi paused while sitting behind the wheel of his Ford Envoy
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— about as big as an apartment in some cities — and said Bridgeport is moving toward having more fuel-efficient vehicles. He said he would swap the Envoy for a hybrid vehicle that runs on a battery and gasoline in the near future.
The new pump was purchased and installed through a partnership between local, state and federal agencies and private companies, including Iroquois Gas Transmission and Southern Connecticut Gas Co.
Santa Energy President Thomas Santa said his company could not have installed the pump without government aid. The technology is too expensive and there is not enough demand, he said.
Natural gas is delivered to the site, where a machine compresses it and stores it in several tanks that are hooked up to a machine which, except for the nozzle, is identical to a gasoline pump. Filling up with compressed natural gas sounds more like filling a helium balloon than gassing up a car.
"This is a project that I've been trying to get into the city for the last 10 years," said City Councilman James Holloway, D-139, who attended the event. "It's good for the environment. Plants, animals and kids with asthma are going to thank us."
The environmental benefits and practice for future conversion to a hydrogen-based fuel system are the best reasons for using CNG vehicles, according to two experts.
"If you're going to do it for cost savings, you're not going to see that," said Peter Russell, a Santa Energy vice president. But he said CNG vehicles create almost no pollution, and putting more of them on the road helps create fuel diversity in the country and reduce dependence on foreign oil.
Ed Boman, Fairfield's assistant director of public works and the coordinator of the Southwest Clean Cities Coalition, said CNG vehicles will pave the way for using hydrogen in the future.
Hydrogen gas is expected to replace liquid gasoline as the main energy source for transportation in the future, according to some energy experts. The major hurdles facing this conversion include the high cost of creating hydrogen-powered engines, which use fuel cells, and the fact the nation's energy infrastructure is geared toward liquid fuel, Boman said.
Developing CNG fueling systems and cars would be a stepping stone to the hydrogen system, he said.
Fairfield has 27 CNG vehicles and a filling station of its own.
While the fuel cost is about the same as gasoline, Boman said, the CNG vehicles require less maintenance.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, there is virtually no difference in performance, including starting and top speeds, between a CNG vehicle and a gasoline vehicle. The average cost for a CNG vehicle is between $1,500 to $6,000 more than a gasoline model. Most CNG vehicles are only sold in fleets, but Honda is selling them to individuals in California. People can also convert their cars into CNG cars, which can cost more than $2,000, according to the Energy Department.
Although Santa isn't expecting a high volume at the CNG pump, it got two new customers Tuesday.
Craig Peters, fleet sales manager of Manchester Honda, drove down for the ceremony in his CNG-powered Civic. He bought more than four gallons.
He and Barry Carr, a Honda alternative fuel lobbyist, said they drive CNG Civics full time, and said the cars get more out of a gallon of natural gas than most cars get out of gasoline.
Rob Varnon, who covers business, can be reached at 330-6216.