Natural Gas Vehicle Market Penetration Continues to Gain Momentum
By Richard Nemec, NGI Daily's Gas Price Index.
While national and global market penetration is still modest, advocates for natural gas vehicles (NGV) could be heard at recent energy conferences in Chicago and Denver adding more fuel to the fire of enthusiasm among major fleet operators for natural gas as a transportation alternative.
At the LDC Mid-Continent Gas Forum in Chicago (Sept. 14-16), Chris Shorts, the gas supply/customer support director for Spectra Energy Corp.'s Union Gas Ltd., said NGVs in the long-haul trucking sector are part of Union's demand growth strategies. It's an extension of the Ontario-based utility's industrial growth initiatives, he said.
"We have a whole group that is working on the transportation sector, focused on long-haul trucking," Shorts said. "There are lots of roads in Ontario and we have to transport stuff long distances, so we're looking at using compressed natural gas [CNG] or liquefied natural gas [LNG] in that sector."