YOUNGSTOWN — IGS CNG Services is breaking ground on its Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fueling station in the greater Youngstown area — located in Weathersfield Township, Trumbull County.
The first of its kind in the Mahoning Valley, this station will service a growing number of Ohio businesses and citizens who are converting to natural gas vehicles (NGVs) as a way to save money and use a clean, Ohio fuel.
The Youngstown station will be the fifth station in the IGS CNG Services network that offers CNG to the public. The other four are located in Dublin, Ohio, (owned by the City of Dublin), Charleston, W.Va., Bridgeport, W.Va., and Jane Lew, W.Va.
Expected completion date is June 2014.
Natural gas
Natural gas offers an abundant, affordable and environmentally-friendly alternative to gasoline or diesel as CNG vehicles become an increasingly popular transportation option. This station will offer a convenient location in the greater Youngstown area for drivers to refuel with CNG in approximately the same amount of time it would take at a conventional gasoline station.
State Rep. Sean J. O’Brien (D-Trumbull County), along with State Rep. Dave Hall (R-Millersburg), have introduced legislation that would provide tax incentives for entities that buy or convert vehicles to compressed natural gas (CNG), establish a sales tax reduction for those who purchase electric vehicles and create a five-year phase of a motor fuel tax on compressed natural gas that will match the current tax on gas and diesel.
“I am excited IGS CNG Services is announcing the development of a new compressed natural gas station here in our valley. This investment will make our community a leader in natural gas development. It is my hope that investments such as this, coupled with the passage of House Bill 336, will help all of Ohio to become a national leader for alternative fuels for transportation,” said O’Brien.
“I’m thrilled to be a part of the growing Compressed Natural Gas vehicle trend and in working with IGS CNG Services; we will soon be able to offer CNG in addition to gasoline and diesel,” said Pat Manning, owner of the Mr. Fuel gasoline and diesel truck stop. “This is a big step toward development of the infrastructure necessary to move Ohio in the right direction in getting more CNG-fueled vehicles on the road.”
“We’ll have two dispensers with two high flow and two ‘fleet’ style hoses to allow users to plug their CNG vehicle into the dispenser and refuel in the same amount of time it would take to refuel your traditional gasoline or diesel vehicle,” said Dave Mrowzinski, program manager with IGS CNG Services.
Cleaner
Overall, CNG is a cleaner burning alternative fuel to traditional fuels, emitting up to 30 percent less carbon dioxide, up to 75 percent less carbon monoxide and up to 95 percent less particulate matter than gasoline or diesel.
The fuel also costs substantially less than the price of gasoline, is approximately 30-40 percent below current diesel prices, and is produced domestically in states including Ohio. Currently, there is more than a 100-year natural gas supply in the U.S. alone.
Station
The station will be located at the Mr. Fuel truck stop, 2840 Salt Springs Road, in Weathersfield Township. This location is directly off Interstate 80 at the Salt Springs Road exit and will be able to support light, medium and heavy-duty CNG fueled vehicles.
Some commercial CNG vehicles include light-duty trucks and sedans to medium-duty trucks such as delivery vans and postal vehicles, to heavy-duty vehicles such as tractor trailers.
