Century Continues To Research Natural Gas Vehicle Conversions, Filling Station

August 25, 2013

The Town of Century is continuing the exploration process of using \natural gas to power some town vehicles and the installation of a filling station.

Tuesday, Mayor Freddie McCall, Council Member Gary Riley and gas department head Eddie Hammond  will hit the road to look at similar setups belonging to Okaloosa Gas. And on Friday, they will look Escambia County’s first natural gas filling station on Pine Forest Road.

The Pine Forest Road station was a joint project between the City of Pensacola, Pensacola Energy (formerly Energy Services of Pensacola) and ECUA. The $1.8 million filling station opened in October 2012. It is operated and maintained by Pensacola Energy and  features four “fast fill” hoses as well as 90 time-fill dispensers which can be used to refuel vehicles overnight.

The City of Pensacola also operates a private CNG filling station for their natural gas fleet, and ECUA plans to open a second site at their Ellyson Industrial Park  location this fall.

McCall, Riley and Hammond will report their findings back to the Century town council.

Pictured: Escambia County’s first CNG filling station opened on Pine Forest Road in October 2012. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.

Comments

3 Responses to “Century Continues To Research Natural Gas Vehicle Conversions, Filling Station”

  1. David Huie Green on August 27th, 2013 5:23 am

    By the way, for a long time, Standard Oil didn’t sell gasoline (nor did anybody else) back when they refined petroleum to get kerosene.

    John David Rockefeller just hated to see the stuff go to waste. He had his refineries build gasoline powered vehicles back in the 1880s or so to use the “waste” since it was essentially free.

    There was no market for it elsewhere because it was too explosive to use for lamp fuel and there were essentially no automobiles around to use it. In time Henry Ford and others built devices to use the gasoline such that it became the main point of refining rather than just a waste product.

    As vehicles became available to use it, stations became available to supply those vehicles.

  2. David Huie Green on August 25th, 2013 9:44 pm

    CONSIDERING:
    “If these natural gas filling stations were truly economically feasible, don’t you think BP and the other petrochemical companies would be busy putting them in all over the country? ”

    Only if they had enough customers to justify the expense.
    They don’t, so they won’t.

    That doesn’t mean it might not be viable for local usage such as a town’s vehicles. (it might not but it isn’t automatically a bad idea)

    David for a better future

  3. M on August 25th, 2013 8:12 am

    I am wondering if the Town of Century has hit the big powerball lotto and kept quiet about it If they haven’t, they sure seem to be borrowing and spending like they have. If these natural gas filling stations were truly economically feasible, don’t you think BP and the other petrochemical companies would be busy putting them in all over the country? The range of natural gas vehicles is so limited, and the cost so exorbitant, that it would be impossible for a little town like Century to ever recoup the cost of the vehicles, much less the cost of the filling station. Wake up citizens of Century, tell your town council to quit looking for dry wells to keep throwing your money down.