DOTHAN, Ala. -- This week, what is said to be Alabama's largest compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling site opened for business.
The public-access CNG fueling station, located at a Hobo Pantry convenience store in Dothan, is owned and operated by Corridor Clean Fuels LLC, Albertville, Ala. The CNG fueling station developer is building a network of CNG fueling stations across the Southeast, including private sites for local and regional haul fleets as well as public-access stations.
For the Dothan site, Corridor partnered with Home Oil Co. Inc., Cowarts, Ala., which has approximately 26 Hobo Pantry sites as well as a fuel distribution business. The CNG station sells Corridor's Cynergy brand CNG--currently priced at $1.98 per gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE)--and features two 250-horsepower compressors with two internal card-reading CNG dispensers. The site serves light- and heavy-duty natural-gas-powered vehicles with a dispensing rate of 10 GGEs per minute.
More than 100 attended the ribbon cutting and grand opening this week.
"It's hard to be the first, but I believe CNG is the wave of the future," said Dothan mayor Mike Schmitz.
Houston County Commission chairman Mark Culver observed, "The good thing is not only is CNG good for our state and our community, but it's good for our nation in that it uses a domestic product to make fuel and keeps us from being dependent on foreign oil."
And Mark Bentley, executive director of the Alabama Clean Cities Coalition, noted that the public-access fast-fill site will not only serve those currently using CNG, "it will encourage both fleets and individuals to make the switch to this domestic, cleaner-burning alternative to imported oil and diesel fuel."
Corridor Clean Fuels held a CNG workshop after the grand opening to educate local fleets about CNG as an alternative to gasoline and diesel. Attendees learned about CNG engine availability and the potential fuel cost savings.
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