Port Authority examines switching to natural gas
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Port Authority officials say they don't yet know when or if they will be able to replace diesel-powered buses with vehicles that run on natural gas.
Steve Bland, the Allegheny County transit agency's CEO, said he didn't want to raise false hopes for a fast conversion. He was responding to an announcement last week that the Port Authority had received a $3.1 million federal grant to advance the process.
That money would be used to construct a compressed natural gas refueling station at its West Mifflin garage.
The receipt of the federal grant comes a month after the Heinz Endowments and energy company EQT announced joint funding for a $287,000 study of whether it would make economic sense to do the multimillion-dollar conversion. That study is expected to be completed by the middle of 2012, according to Caren Glotfelty, director of the endowments' environmental program.
Using natural gas as a transportation fuel offers several benefits, according to David Ross, director of business development for EQT. It burns cleaner than diesel, is produced domestically and is currently cheaper, he said.
"We'll be gathering information on whether use of natural gas makes sense financially, technically and legally," Mr. Bland said. "We don't know the answers to those questions now."
Replacing diesel-fuel powered buses with vehicles that run on natural gas would be a multiyear process, he said. The conversion would not start until the Port Authority has detailed information on the costs of retrofitting its four garages to handle such vehicles.
That work would include construction of repair and maintenance areas as well as installation of refueling pumps.
The conversion offers the potential of both environmental and economic advantages.
"It's our view that in terms of regional health, using natural gas could make a significant improvement in air quality," Ms. Glotfelty said. The difference would be greatest in terms of reduced fine particle emissions.
First Published November 21, 2011 12:00 am
