Cedar City’s newly improved CNG Station touted as environmentally friendly and cheaper than gas

CEDAR CITY — Drivers of vehicles fueled by compressed natural gas now can access a more efficient fueling station at Cedar City’s J R’s Truck Stop, which Utah Inland Port Authority’s executive director Jack C. Hedge said will both cost and pollute less.

A group photo taken just before the ribbon-cutting for the newly improved CNG station at JR’s Truck Stop, Cedar City, Utah, May 25, 2022 | Photo by Free Reyes, St. George News

On May 25, officials from Dominion Energy and their partners gathered at the truck stop for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly improved CNG station.

Dominion Energy’s partners included the Utah Inland Port Authority, Utah Clean Cities, Lancer Energy,  J-W  Power company and American CNG.

“It’s been a collaboration of competitors and we’ve come together for a cause and it’s a great story to share,” said Dominion Energy Manager of Operations Brett Brown, adding that the station offers a functional option for large truck transport.

Brown said the station originally was established in 2014 and that customer volume has increased by 300% over the last three years.

Customer demand prompted Dominion Energy to send a team to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to learn about increasing pump speeds – J-W Power Company’s compressor technology, which now is being utilized at the new station.

Brown said it would take about 45-50 minutes to fill a large truck’s tank with natural gas before the improvements, but that time’s now been cut to approximately 10 minutes, making it the fastest in the state. Filling up at the new CNG station takes less time than at a regular diesel fuel pump, Hedge added.

Sales director Nate Thacker using the CNG station at JR’s Truck Stop, Cedar City, Utah, May 25, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News

“And time means money to a truck driver,” he said.

Additionally, a unit of natural gas is less than half the price of a gallon of diesel, Brown said. With inflation heavily impacting fuel prices, adding cost-efficiency can reduce the price of end products, said Hedge.

Sales Director Nate Thacker and his team from American CNG presented a hybrid bus that runs on a blend of natural gas and diesel fuel, which served as a backdrop to the celebration.

The bus has a short drive range of approximately 70-100 miles, but other models can travel farther. The technology can be used with any existing diesel asset, Thacker said.

American CNG converts diesel-fueled vehicles so they will run on blended fuel types, so having access to both CNG and diesel at the truck stop is “phenomenal,” said Thacker.

“We’re super excited about this,” he said. “I’ve got my own vehicle. When I drove down, I decided to stop at this one and fuel up here versus the slower filling stations at other places – come in here real quick and get it done.”

Dominion Energy currently has over 230 vehicles running on natural gas within their service area, said Brown, adding that there are 22 CNG stations within Utah and Wyoming.

Location and freight

Interstate 15 is one of the most important freight corridors in North America and Cedar City is an important waypoint for cargo and goods between the “giant markets” on the west coast and production areas of the Midwest, Hedge said.

Trucks pulled up to the CNG station at JR’s Truck Stop, Cedar City, Utah, May 25, 2022 | Photo by Free Reyes, St. George News

“That’s why this place has become such a hotbed for truck stops, truck maintenance and refueling and tire repair and all those things,” he said. “It’s because of its location.”

Hedge said 30-40% of the nation’s import and export cargo flows through Utah. Of goods consumed on a daily basis, 90% come from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California and travel into Utah by truck.

“So something like this is super important to reduce the carbon footprint,” he said.

The Utah Inland Port Authority was created by the State Legislature in 2018 to evaluate the movement of goods transferred to and from Utah, Hedge said.

Its mission is to promote smart, sustainable logistics solutions through infrastructure investments, added the organization’s Chief Operating Officer Jill Flygare.

Trucks pulled up to the CNG station at JR’s Truck Stop, Cedar City, Utah, May 25, 2022 | Photo by Free Reyes, St. George News

“(The CNG station) really fits well within our mission of building out the infrastructure that moves goods more efficiently through the system,” she said. “And it helps with our jurisdictional area and getting those goods to all of the end-users within the Intermountain West.”

UPS moves freight between Southern California and its distribution center in Salt Lake City, covering the entire intermountain region, Hedge said, adding that access to CNG stations reduces the carbon footprint associated with that work and makes moving cargo more efficient and cost-effective while improving air quality.

“If you bought it, a truck brought it,” he said. “Literally … everything came in a truck. Projects like this are going to make that movement by truck more efficient, less polluting, less costly.”

The supply chain is the lifeblood of the economy, Hedge said.

Sustainability

Large truck transportation is likely the biggest offender of urban emissions, said Brown, adding that diesel-fuel emissions can be reduced to near-zero by utilizing renewable natural gas, like that available at the truck stop. Renewable natural gas can be harvested from facilities that produce it naturally, such as landfills, wastewater treatment plants and farms.

The CNG station at JR’s Truck Stop, Cedar City, Utah, May 25, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News

The benefits go beyond the point of zero emissions because the station is utilizing renewable fuels that otherwise would have been released as greenhouse gasses, said Tammie Bostick, the executive director of Utah Clean Cities.

Utah Clean Cities is part of the Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office and has been working on vehicles that use alternative fuel and related infrastructure in Utah for 35 years. The organization is focused on Utah-based energy, such as renewable natural gas, electric and propane, she said.

Additionally, the organization is working to make hydrogen fuel more accessible. The gas can be produced from methane with a process called steam methane reformation and then injected into a pipeline to be transported to a distant location or used on-site at an H2 station, said Bostick.

Because the fuels are all sourced stateside, local decision-making, the use of local infrastructure and vehicles and energy independence all will be encouraged, Bostick said, adding that rising gas prices should serve as a reminder to consider alternatives.

“We have one opportunity – and it’s now – to get it right,” she said. “And so getting it right with advanced and alternative fuels is our opportunity today. And so, when we look at the Build Back Better funding, don’t shake your head and say, ‘Ah! Federal dollars, just coming our way.’ Shake your head yes and open your hand and make a plan because this is the time to make your plans and to have your transportation opportunities be realized.”

A truck filling up at the CNG station at JR’s Truck Stop, Cedar City, Utah, May 25, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News

The Utah Inland Port Authority is partnering with Dominion Energy and Lancer Energy to build advanced fuel facilities like the one at J R’s Truck Stop across Utah, Hedge said. The organization is also part of the Project Beehive initiative which aims to develop a renewable fueling station in Salt Lake City that will provide multiple refueling options, including hydrogen, electric and CNG.

“We hope to replicate this in numerous locations around the state,” he said. “We’re moving as fast as we can move to get these done.”

Renewable natural gas has been available at the truck stop since 2020, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 8,000 metric tons, which Brown said is the equivalent of removing approximately 3,490 cars from the road.

Dominion Energy is working with partners in an effort to be an industry leader in sustainable energy, Brown added.

“We’d like to leave places better than we found them,” Brown said.

Vehicle conversion

American CNG sells replacement and original equipment manufacturer parts that can be used to convert a vehicle to run on dedicated natural gas or blended fuel. Thacker said the company realized there was a “hole in the market,” because of the long waitlist to purchase CNG vehicles.

A mock-up of how American CNG plans to paint the hybrid bus that runs on a blend of diesel fuel and CNG, which they’ll use to visit schools, no date or location specified | Image courtesy of American CNG, Cedar City News

The company’s primary focus is to help users of diesel engines transition into alternative fuel, said Thacker, adding that the hybrid technology allows drivers to begin using CNG as they purchase dedicated technology.

Additionally, the parts are transferable. If a school district replaces a 20-year-old bus, they can install the parts in the new vehicle.

American CNG also sells parts to other companies to convert diesel and gasoline engines, as well, Thacker said. And the company plans to convert 100,000 trucks in the next five years and 1,000 by 2023.

“Our technology is essentially a bridge to allow people to start moving into the alternative fuel technology,” he said. “And we’re just here to grow the infrastructure and the awareness as much as possible”

Updated June 13, 1:10 p.m.: Adds information about making hydrogen fuel more accessible.

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