ROGERS — The owner of a gasoline filling station is hoping to add an alternative fuel source, compressed natural gas, to his operation.
Satnam Singh, president of Singh Enterprises Inc. and owner of the White Hawk convenience store and gasoline station at 1710 W. Hudson Road, said he sees a need for a compressed natural gas station in Northwest Arkansas.
“Benton County officials are discussing converting some of the county fleet to natural gas; about 50 percent of the AT&T fleet in the country uses natural gas; and there is a possibility J.B. Hunt and Walmart may want to convert to compressed natural gas in the future,” Singh said.
By The Numbers
CNG Fuel
• 12 million: Number of CNG-powered vehicles on the road today.
• 250,000: Number of CNG-powered vehicles in use in United States.
• 12,000: Number of CNG fueling stations worldwide.
• 500: Number of CNG fueling stations in United States.
Source: www.cngnow.com
Compressed natural gas is made by compressing natural gas to less than 1 percent of its volume at standard atmospheric pressure, according to www.cngnow.com. Compressed natural gas consists mostly of methane and is odorless, colorless and tasteless.
“We’ve got at least two or maybe three private entities that are interested in putting in a CNG station in Northwest Arkansas, which I think is a great thing,” said County Judge Bob Clinard. “I’ve said this before, I think it’s important for our national security and for our economy that we make use of the resources we have in this country. If they do put a station up here, I have said I will do everything I can to influence the use of CNG in county vehicles.”
Clinard said a proposal — which would have the county lease land at the Benton County Road Department site on Southwest 14th Street in Bentonville for a CNG station — is on hold. He said officials are checking the legal issues around a lease of county property to a private business.
“It’s a little bit premature,” Clinard said of the proposal. “We’ve got the county attorney looking at the legalities of it. On the surface it seems to be a good deal.”
Rogers planning commissioners are scheduled to discuss on Feb. 5 adding compressed natural gas stations to the city’s schedule of zoning uses.
There are no compressed natural gas filling stations in Northwest Arkansas, although there are five elsewhere in the state.
“This is something new in our area. We will have to adjust our schedule of uses to allow a conditional use permit for a compressed natural gas station in highway commercial zoning,” said Derrel Smith, senior planner.
The closest compressed natural gas station is in Fort Smith. Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corp. opened the Fort Smith station in April 2011. There are also stations in Little Rock, North Little Rock and Damascus.
The cost of compressed natural gas can be as little as half that of a gallon of gas if the owner uses a home refueling device. At commercial stations, the cost is still significantly less than gasoline. Some research pegs the fuel savings at about 30 percent less than gasoline on average, according to a March 2012 article in Consumer Reports.
Compressed natural gas may be less expensive than gasoline, but the cost of converting a vehicle to run on compressed natural gas can be expensive.
A properly installed conversion will run anywhere from $6,500 for a basic system to $12,000 for a top-of-the-line installation with a high-capacity, composite fuel tank, according to a recent article in Popular Mechanics.
“We think there is a future for compressed natural gas in our area. I have an option on two acres behind our gasoline station,” Singh said. “If the Planning Commission agrees to include compressed natural gas as a conditional use permit in highway commercial, I intend to build a diesel and compressed natural gas filling station on the two acres.”
Tom Sissom contributed to this report.