Stewart Kennedy, of NGV Fleet Partners in Guthrie, has helped Tulsa Public Schools change 140 buses to run off compressed natural gas rather than gasoline.
He spoke Thursday at James W. Strate Cen-ter for Business Development at Autry Tech-nology Center to explain how that could be-come a reality in Enid.
“I’ve been talking with Brent (Kisling),” Kennedy said Thursday. “I think there is definitely an economic case to be made for natural gas.”
Enid/Garfield County Devel-opment Alliance hosted a CNG forum at the Strate Center Thursday. The purpose of the forum was to explain the benefits of switching some city vehicles to running on compressed natural gas.
Brad Ballard, manager of business development for Oklahoma Natural Gas, explained both advantages and disadvantages of natural gas to the audience before Kennedy spoke. Ballard said natural gas emits 20 percent less carbon dioxide and 80 percent less nitrogen oxide than standard gasoline. In addition to less harmful emissions, he said, natural gas is much cheaper and cleaner.
But a major disadvantage, Ballard said, is investing in the infrastructure to fund such a project.
“You can’t just go to regular gas stations,” he said, and refueling stations would cost around $400,000 to build. It also would cost around $10,000 to convert just one vehicle.
Ballard still believes the reward of building such stations is much greater than the risk. Tax savings, he said, would trickle down to other businesses and ultimately consumers, and the whole local economy would benefit.
“It makes sense we do it here,” he said.
Kisling, executive director of Enid/Garfield County Develop-ment Alliance, said while all budgets in the city are tight, this is an excellent example of saving money.
“If we can find ways to decrease costs in our community, that’ll help it to grow,” he said.