Augmented by more aggressive marketing from oil/gas producers, automakers, retailers and states, natural gas for transportation is beginning to get some real traction even as Congress came up short last Tuesday in attempts to add a national stimulus package to the specialized vehicular fuel aimed mostly at fleet operators.

Following up on its collaboration with General Electric to expand fueling capability nationally (see Daily GPI, March 8a), Chesapeake Energy Corp. touted the advent of compressed natural gas (CNG) soon being available at retailers, such as 7-Eleven, Kroger, Murphy USA and Sheetz as part of an investor presentation last Tuesday.

“The market is moving even if the federal government is not,” according to Chesapeake officials who cited new bifuel CNG trucks, improved fueling infrastructure, improved natural gas engines and retailers willing to step up and offer CNG as examples. Among its top 10 reasons why gas can compete in the transportation sector are “cost, convenience and enhanced customer experience.”

Separately on Thursday the California Energy Commission (CEC) doled out $8.5 million in grants to help bring more natural gas and propane-powered vehicles to the state. The funding is part of the state energy commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, helping make up the difference between a conventional gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicle and ones powered by natural gas.

CEC Commissioner Carla Peterman said individual consumers and fleet operators can benefit from the funding program. She said the latest grants should put an additional 357 CNG vehicles and 110 propane-powered ones into service in the state where the nation’s most extensive fueling infrastructure for CNG and liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicles exists.

Nearly two dozen automakers and retailers were listed as getting part of the CEC funding, including Crane Carrier Co., Kenworth Truck Co., Navistar Inc. and Peterbilt Motors Co.

“By encouraging the use of alternatively fueled vehicles, we are helping create jobs and reduce California’s dependency on petroleum,” Peterman said. “Using cleaner-burning fuels also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

As one element in a four-part strategy for increasing gas demand along with industrial, power generation and LNG exports, Chesapeake said that it sees transportation growth as coming from a “50% savings on fuel bills” for American consumers buffeted by the prospect of $5/gallon gasoline.

“Leading fuel retailers [Valero, Gulf, etc.] are demonstrating market leadership through adoption of CNG and LNG fueling,” Chesapeake officials told investors.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for CNG and natural gas vehicles (NGV). The U.S. Senate considered — but ultimately defeated on Tuesday — an amendment to its two-year, $109 billion transportation bill that would have subsidized purchasers of NGVs and manufacturers of both NGVs and their supportive fueling stations (see Daily GPI, March 14).

However, at the state level, a legislator in the Pennsylvania General Assembly has introduced a bill designed to encourage the use of NGVs and the construction of fueling stations to support them within the state that his home to the heart of the Marcellus Shale (see related story).

Last week both GM and Chrysler introduced new natural-gas powered pickup trucks (see Daily GPI, March 8b; March 6), and American Honda Motor Co., which claims to be the only automaker selling natural-gas powered passenger cars in the U.S., also announced it would begin installing CNG fuel pumps at some of its dealerships (see Daily GPI, March 12).

President Obama also mentioned NGVs during his speech promoting the National Community Deployment Challenge, a $1 billion effort to jumpstart the deployment of vehicles powered by alternative fuels (see Daily GPI, March 8c).

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