HOUSTON -- VNG.Co LLC has added its "CNG by VNG" compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling to two gas stations in Texas, its first installations planned for this year for the Houston and Dallas markets.
VNG installs, maintains, monitors and operates its company-owned CNG fueling equipment at existing gas stations. The two new Texas sites include a Valero-branded station in Houston and a Shell-branded station inthe Dallas suburb of Euless, Texas.
As part of the grand opening, both locations will offer CNG for 99 cents per gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) for a limited time.
“The addition of these station locations and the promotional offer is an invitation to area fleets and consumers to come see what the future of CNG fueling is all about,” said Robert Friedman, COO at VNG, based in Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
The two CNG by VNG sites are the first in a multicity rollout that VNG is planning for major U.S. markets, with a goal to make the alternative fuel as convenient as gasoline for drivers of light-duty natural-gas-powered vehicles (NGVs). VNG currently has one other site open in Philadelphia at a BP station, and has additional CNG sites in the works for the Dallas and Houston metropolitan markets this year, including a Circle K in Houston.
Its CNG by VNG model is designed to make fueling with CNG similar to gasoline, with similar fast-fill times as well as providing the amenities of a convenience store.
“We eliminate fueling infrastructure costs for a fleet operator while providing them with a quality fueling experience so the decision to add natural-gas vehicles to a fleet is greatly simplified," said Friedman.
The sites were partly funded through an Alternative Fueling Facilities Program Grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
“TCEQ funding provides an important catalyst to the market and is an integral part of a comprehensive state effort to promote natural gas for transportation as a key component of emission-reduction efforts,” said Friedman, noting that light-duty vehicles account for up to 75% of transportation emissions.
“In addition to helping reduce emissions, each facility can dispense up to 1 million GGEs annually,” continued Friedman, “providing an important source of future demand for theTexas gas industry and helping to sustainTexas’ robust energy economy.”
According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center of the U.S Department of Energy, Texas has around 70 public CNG fueling sites, placing the state just behind California and Oklahoma.
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