There's a new compressed natural gas station in these parts. But is CNG our vehicle fuel of the future, or not?
While there is reason to applaud for a natural gas vehicle fueling center that just opened conveniently at a South Jersey Wawa, it's also a reminder of our sadly scattered national and state energy policy.
In comparison with refined petroleum -- gasoline and diesel -- compressed natural gas (CNG) is seen as an alternative fuel for operating cars and trucks. It burns cleaner than petroleum, but it's still a fossil fuel. And, increasingly, natural gas is produced through the process of fracturing rock, the "fracking" that environmentalists warn can have bad consequences on water quality and even promote earthquakes.
So is CNG "green," as its advocates claim? Or, is it just another way to harm the environment while moving people and goods around? The question won't be settled here. What's relevant for this discussion is why so few cars and trucks use CNG, even those with "flex-fuel" capability.
The Wawa store in Paulsboro is just the 13th public CNG fueling site in all of New Jersey. It operates under a partnership with the South Jersey Gas Co., which has opened its own CNG fueling sites in Glassboro and Millville. All across the nation, there are just 900.
There's a chicken-and-egg game here. One reason there are only a scant 15,000 U.S. vehicles running on CNG is that there are so few places to refuel. It's the same with plug-in electric cars. Drivers resist them because they're afraid they'll run out of power on the freeway. Even hybrids, which have been around for years and combine small gasoline engines with electric motors, comprise less than 2 percent of recent U.S. vehicle sales.
These technologies have gained more acceptance in foreign countries. But U.S. policymakers and vehicle producers -- whose actions are followed by the motoring public -- can't pick a side.
Natural gas has been viewed as a transitional motor fuel to wean us off of dirty and often-imported oil until emerging technologies such as hydrogen power and longer-range plug-ins are ready. But then came $1.39-a-gallon gasoline, far less of it imported from outlaw nations than in the past. Before that, climate-change deniers slowed acceptance of any alternative fuels. Politicians looking toward the Iowa presidential caucuses steadfastly declared that corn-based ethanol must remain in a mandated fuel mix.
In New Jersey, we can't even accept raising our low state gasoline tax, which could improve roads, help pay for efficient mass transit and perhaps discourage some unnecessary driving. Gov. Chris Christie has run away from his once-enthusiastic support of offshore wind power.
Congratulate Wawa for its forward thinking with its new CNG site. Its location near Interstate Route 295 and nearby truck stops will make it attractive to corporate fleets, the one place where natural gas vehicles are poised to make significant inroads.
If, however, we want CNG -- or hydrogen, or electricity -- to be embraced as the motor fuel of America's future, government and carmakers have to do more to promote acceptance of the chosen alternative. Coherent energy policy has not been a hallmark of the last two presidential administrations. The 2016 candidates don't talk about this, but it's too important an issue to ignore.