Another public fueling station for natural gas vehicles (NGV) opened in California last Thursday with help from state and local government agencies and guidance from the local utility. The opening boosts the state’s total NGV fueling sites to 230, 110 of which are open for general public use, according to the Sacramento-based California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition.

The Southern California Orange County suburb of Placentia, received funding for the $800,000 project from the California Energy Commission and South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD). The local Sempra Energy utility, Southern California Gas Co., helped the city design the station and apply for the energy commission and AQMD funding.

Including four dispensers — two each at 3,000 and 3,600 psi, respectively — with two hoses at each dispenser, the station will allow newer high-pressure vehicles to refuel “in roughly the time it takes to refuel a gasoline-powered car,” a SoCalGas announcement on the new station said. “The dispensers accept payment from six different credit card companies and boast the latest technology in compressing and dispensing natural gas.”

City officials in Placentia and the state energy commission engineers touted the use of compressed natural gas (CNG), particularly in vehicle fleet operations. A gas utility marketing manager said at today’s fuel prices, CNG fuel costs are about 10% less than a gasoline-powered car traveling the same distance.

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