Asheville

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill into law designed to help Duke Energy convert one of its coal-fired power plants in the state to natural gas…

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill into law designed to help Duke Energy convert one of its coal-fired power plants in the state to natural gas, as the power giant moves forward with plans to excavate coal ash from 24 sites across the Carolinas.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision that a distributor could owe county taxes on natural gas that it stores temporarily along the interstate gas pipeline system. Kansas City, MO-based Missouri Gas Energy (MGE), a subsidiary of Southern Union, challenged the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision, which held that MGE owed Woods County, OK, taxes for gas stored in the North Hopeton storage facility in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Before the high court, MGE argued that it was immune to the taxation under the the Commerce Clause. Millions of dollars were at stake in the case. Harriet Miers, former White House counsel and former President George W. Bush’s one-time nominee for the Supreme Court, filed the petition for certiorari in 2009 on behalf of MGE (see NGI, Oct. 19, 2009). At issue in the case was whether states and local governments have the power to tax a distributor’s natural gas that is stored temporarily in an interstate pipeline system.

Altech-Eco Corp. of Asheville, NC, has obtained a certificate of conformity from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its 2010 Ford Transit Connect compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion system. The conversion allows the vehicle to run entirely on natural gas, making it the only EPA-certified 2010 CNG system for the 2010 Transit Connect worldwide, the company said. Households or companies can receive a $4,000 federal income tax credit by purchasing the vehicle. A bi-fuel option using both CNG and gasoline is also available. The CNG conversion system for the Transit Connect is now available at participating Ford dealers and approved aftermarket conversion facilities, or by contacting Altech-Eco.

Altech-Eco Corp. of Asheville, NC, has obtained a certificate of conformity from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its 2010 Ford Transit Connect compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion system. The conversion allows the vehicle to run entirely on natural gas, making it the only EPA-certified 2010 CNG system for the 2010 Transit Connect worldwide, the company said. Households or companies can receive a $4,000 federal income tax credit by purchasing the vehicle. A bi-fuel option using both CNG and gasoline is also available. The CNG conversion system for the Transit Connect is now available at participating Ford dealers and approved aftermarket conversion facilities, or by contacting Altech-Eco.