The Colorado Energy Office, which has a goal of diversifying the state’s energy use for transportation, is preparing to issue a request for applications (RFA) for partial funding of compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations that are co-located with electric vehicle (EV) charging sites and/or propane fueling locations.

“Colorado is in a position to become a key producer and beneficiary in the emerging alternative-fuels economy,” the state energy office says on its website’s transportation page. “We have abundant resources that have great potential as domestic sources for transportation fuels.”

Funded under a state air quality management “Alt Fuels Colorado” program, the awards from the RFA offering will be announced in June or July, according to Wes Maurer of the state energy office. Maurer told the transportation sector newsletter Fleets and Fuels that the RFA should be released in the next week or so.

Separately, the Denver-based Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) will administer a vehicle portion of the co-located station program. It plans to hold a workshop for partial funding of public and private alternative-fueled fleet vehicles in late summer.

More details on the upcoming programs can be obtained from the Colorado Energy Office by contacting Maurer, (303) 866-2930, or wes.maurer@state.co.us; or the RAQC’s Steve McCannon, (303) 629-5450, or smccannon@raqc.org.

Elsewhere three natural gas vehicle (NGV) fueling equipment suppliers are preparing to introduce new products at the ACT (Alternative Clean Transportation) Expo in Long Beach, CA, offering new efficiency design innovations for providing CNG and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as NGV fuels.

Mississippi-based NGV Solutions has a new mid-size NGV compressor, its G-Force Model 125, billed as “an economical American-made reciprocating compressor package, delivering 60-70 gallon equivalents/hour.”

NGV Solutions CEO Forrest Berry emphasizes the unit’s “small footprint and high reliability,” along with very little energy consumption. “The heart of the unit is a reciprocating compressor like those used in oilfield applications due to their efficiency, durability and reliability,” the company said.

Buffalo, NY-based Cobey Energy said it has now received certification from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for its natural gas storage spheres for storing CNG at up to 5,000 psi. The 12,000 standard cubic feet containers can hold 96 gasoline gallon equivalents.

Cobey said it has received the ASME’s U2 stamp for ASME Division 2 pressure vessels for high-pressure CNG storage via the National Board of Boiler & Pressure Vessel Inspectors. Cobey uses the spherical vessels as part of its line of CNG fueling stations, including compressor packages, priority fill panels, gas dryers, dispensers and card readers.

On the LNG front, Chart Industries said it will show a new “bonus capacity” LNG vehicle fuel tank at the ACT Expo. Slated for its 2015 product years, the newest model “maximizes the volumetric efficiency” of LNG vehicle fuel tanks,” Chart said.

Chart has kept the external size of the tank the same and increased the internal volumetric capacity to extend mileage for long-haul truck drivers, the company said. “LNG continues to become an increasingly attractive fuel for the heavy-duty trucking industry,” Chart General Manager Peter Murray told Fleets and Fuels.