CEDAR CITY — Drivers of vehicles fueled by compressed natural gas now can access a more efficient fueling station at Cedar City’s J R’s Truck Stop, which Utah Inland Port Authority’s executive director Jack C. Hedge said will both cost and pollute less.

A group photo taken just before the ribbon-cutting for the newly improved CNG station at JR’s Truck Stop, Cedar City, Utah, May 25, 2022 | Photo by Free Reyes, St. George News

On May 25, officials from Dominion Energy and their partners gathered at the truck stop for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly improved CNG station.

Dominion Energy’s partners included the Utah Inland Port Authority, Utah Clean Cities, Lancer Energy,  J-W  Power company and American CNG.

“It’s been a collaboration of competitors and we’ve come together for a cause and it’s a great story to share,” said Dominion Energy Manager of Operations Brett Brown, adding that the station offers a functional option for large truck transport.

Brown said the station originally was established in 2014 and that customer volume has increased by 300% over the last three years.

Customer demand prompted Dominion Energy to send a team to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to learn about increasing pump speeds – J-W Power Company’s compressor technology, which now is being utilized at the new station.

Brown said it would take about 45-50 minutes to fill a large truck’s tank with natural gas before the improvements, but that time’s now been cut to approximately 10 minutes, making it the fastest in the state. Filling up at the new CNG station takes less time than at a regular diesel fuel pump, Hedge added.

Sales director Nate Thacker using the CNG station at JR’s Truck Stop, Cedar City, Utah, May 25, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News

“And time means money to a truck driver,” he said.

Additionally, a unit of natural gas is less than half the price of a gallon of diesel, Brown said. With inflation heavily impacting fuel prices, adding cost-efficiency can reduce the price of end products, said Hedge.

Sales Director Nate Thacker and his team from American CNG presented a hybrid bus that runs on a blend of natural gas and diesel fuel, which served as a backdrop to the celebration.

The bus has a short drive range of approximately 70-100 miles, but other models can travel farther. The technology can be used with any existing diesel asset, Thacker said.

American CNG converts diesel-fueled vehicles so they will run on blended fuel types, so having access to both CNG and diesel at the truck stop is “phenomenal,” said Thacker.

“We’re super excited about this,” he said. “I’ve got my own vehicle. When I drove down, I decided to stop at this one and fuel up here versus the slower filling stations at other places – come in here real quick and get it done.”

Dominion Energy currently has over 230 vehicles running on natural gas within their service area, said Brown, adding that there are 22 CNG stations within Utah and Wyoming.

Location and freight

Interstate 15 is one of the most important freight corridors in North America and Cedar City is an important waypoint for cargo and goods between the “giant markets” on the west coast and production areas of the Midwest, Hedge said.

Trucks pulled up to the CNG station at JR’s Truck Stop, Cedar City, Utah, May 25, 2022 | Photo by Free Reyes, St. George News

“That’s why this place has become such a hotbed for truck stops, truck maintenance and refueling and tire repair and all those things,” he said. “It’s because of its location.”

Hedge said 30-40% of the nation’s import and export cargo flows through Utah. Of goods consumed on a daily basis, 90% come from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California and travel into Utah by truck.

“So something like this is super important to reduce the carbon footprint,” he said.

The Utah Inland Port Authority was created by the State Legislature in 2018 to evaluate the movement of goods transferred to and from Utah, Hedge said.

Its mission is to promote smart, sustainable logistics solutions through infrastructure investments, added the organization’s Chief Operating Officer Jill Flygare.

Trucks pulled up to the CNG station at JR’s Truck Stop, Cedar City, Utah, May 25, 2022 | Photo by Free Reyes, St. George News

“(The CNG station) really fits well within our mission of building out the infrastructure that moves goods more efficiently through the system,” she said. “And it helps with our jurisdictional area and getting those goods to all of the end-users within the Intermountain West.”

UPS moves freight between Southern California and its distribution center in Salt Lake City, covering the entire intermountain region, Hedge said, adding that access to CNG stations reduces the carbon footprint associated with that work and makes moving cargo more efficient and cost-effective while improving air quality.

“If you bought it, a truck brought it,” he said. “Literally … everything came in a truck. Projects like this are going to make that movement by truck more efficient, less polluting, less costly.”

The supply chain is the lifeblood of the economy, Hedge said.

Sustainability

Large truck transportation is likely the biggest offender of urban emissions, said Brown, adding that diesel-fuel emissions can be reduced to near-zero by utilizing renewable natural gas, like that available at the truck stop. Renewable natural gas can be harvested from facilities that produce it naturally, such as landfills, wastewater treatment plants and farms.

The CNG station at JR’s Truck Stop, Cedar City, Utah, May 25, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News

The benefits go beyond the point of zero emissions because the station is utilizing renewable fuels that otherwise would have been released as greenhouse gasses, said Tammie Bostick, the executive director of Utah Clean Cities.

Utah Clean Cities is part of the Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office and has been working on vehicles that use alternative fuel and related infrastructure in Utah for 35 years. The organization is focused on Utah-based energy, such as renewable natural gas, electric and propane, she said.

Additionally, the organization is working to make hydrogen fuel more accessible. The gas can be produced from methane with a process called steam methane reformation and then injected into a pipeline to be transported to a distant location or used on-site at an H2 station, said Bostick.

Because the fuels are all sourced stateside, local decision-making, the use of local infrastructure and vehicles and energy independence all will be encouraged, Bostick said, adding that rising gas prices should serve as a reminder to consider alternatives.

“We have one opportunity – and it’s now – to get it right,” she said. “And so getting it right with advanced and alternative fuels is our opportunity today. And so, when we look at the Build Back Better funding, don’t shake your head and say, ‘Ah! Federal dollars, just coming our way.’ Shake your head yes and open your hand and make a plan because this is the time to make your plans and to have your transportation opportunities be realized.”

A truck filling up at the CNG station at JR’s Truck Stop, Cedar City, Utah, May 25, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News

The Utah Inland Port Authority is partnering with Dominion Energy and Lancer Energy to build advanced fuel facilities like the one at J R’s Truck Stop across Utah, Hedge said. The organization is also part of the Project Beehive initiative which aims to develop a renewable fueling station in Salt Lake City that will provide multiple refueling options, including hydrogen, electric and CNG.

“We hope to replicate this in numerous locations around the state,” he said. “We’re moving as fast as we can move to get these done.”

Renewable natural gas has been available at the truck stop since 2020, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 8,000 metric tons, which Brown said is the equivalent of removing approximately 3,490 cars from the road.

Dominion Energy is working with partners in an effort to be an industry leader in sustainable energy, Brown added.

“We’d like to leave places better than we found them,” Brown said.

Vehicle conversion

American CNG sells replacement and original equipment manufacturer parts that can be used to convert a vehicle to run on dedicated natural gas or blended fuel. Thacker said the company realized there was a “hole in the market,” because of the long waitlist to purchase CNG vehicles.

A mock-up of how American CNG plans to paint the hybrid bus that runs on a blend of diesel fuel and CNG, which they’ll use to visit schools, no date or location specified | Image courtesy of American CNG, Cedar City News

The company’s primary focus is to help users of diesel engines transition into alternative fuel, said Thacker, adding that the hybrid technology allows drivers to begin using CNG as they purchase dedicated technology.

Additionally, the parts are transferable. If a school district replaces a 20-year-old bus, they can install the parts in the new vehicle.

American CNG also sells parts to other companies to convert diesel and gasoline engines, as well, Thacker said. And the company plans to convert 100,000 trucks in the next five years and 1,000 by 2023.

“Our technology is essentially a bridge to allow people to start moving into the alternative fuel technology,” he said. “And we’re just here to grow the infrastructure and the awareness as much as possible”

Updated June 13, 1:10 p.m.: Adds information about making hydrogen fuel more accessible.

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ST. GEORGE — Alternatives to fuel-driven vehicles may soon be on the road as Washington County and five counties in Southern Utah explore the Drive Clean Rural USA program opportunities. 

The program is funded in part by the Department of Energy Vehicles Technology program. Utah is one of eight states chosen for the project, which involves county government and private fleet partners. The groups will receive free assistance from Utah Clean Cities once they commit to the program. The three-phase project will run through June 2024.  

“The pilot project goes into rural communities to work with them to build out an advanced alternative transportation plan with the alternative fuels in Utah: propane, electric, natural gas and possibly hydrogen,” Tammie Bostick, Utah Clean Cities Coalition Executive Director, said.

According to the Utah Clean Cities website, the program assists local governments and organizations save money by transitioning vehicle fleets to clean fuels and advanced vehicle technologies. Large cities nationwide have many businesses, hospitals, schools, and local governments that have started the process.

The goal of the program is to help communities build an advanced alternative transportation plan designed by the community’s leadership and their fleet expertise.

A Drive Clean Rural Utah tour is currently in the planning stages for Southern Utah and other rural Utah communities to demonstrate state-of-the-art alternative vehicles. Bostick said this would allow different regional communities to try out the various state-of-the-art vehicle options for alternative transportation. 

She said that the demonstrations would start ideally at Zion National Park, head to Bryce Canyon National Park, and then finish in Moab, bringing along nearby parks and public lands.

These partnerships are in the negotiation stages, Bostick said. Later, they hope to demonstrate the vehicles at more parks around Utah, including state parks, national monuments, and other recreation areas.

“For the parks, we have a collection of six to eight all-electric vehicles, everything from light-duty trucks to full-size trucks to sporty three-wheelers. There are some ideally sized small utility size yard trucks,” Bostick said. “We plan to launch a campaign across our major national parks and possibly state parks if our timeline permits.”

The communities and organizations could try out these advanced vehicles for a few weeks at a time to see if the new technologies are comparable to traditional vehicles.  

“We think they are really going to enjoy the electric vehicles in the parks, as the range is perfect and the fueling is on-site. It is a plug-and-go system,” Bostick said.

A public demonstration of the Drive Clean Rural Utah program is in the planning stages for St. George through the Five County Association of Governments (FCAG).

“We definitely need to look at this program; we’re excited,” Scott Buys, FCAG Mobility Manager, said. “We are interested in becoming more educated and seeing what options are out there.” 

Buys said there’s a big push to give attention to rural areas from the Utah Department of Transportation. He was recently in a meeting where the Utah Department of Transportation discussed long-range alternative transportation.

Alternative transportation would help the environment and the residents that FCAG serves.

“I’m an advocate for what we call our target population, which is seniors, people with disabilities and low income, accessing public transportation for the five counties,” Buys said. “That’s Garfield, Kane, Beaver, Iron and Washington County, so it’s a big area. With this comes some geographical challenges because we have mostly rural areas.”

Buys said larger towns like St. George and Cedar City already have many buses. But in the rural areas, it’s a challenge to keep drivers since wages are sometimes lower. But he is optimistic due to the recent federal funds set aside for the program.

“I understand that the feds allocated additional funds for rural areas, which I’m delighted to hear because that’s where a lot of our needs are even though they’re a smaller population,” Buys said. “Sometimes the rural areas can be the ones that get left out and yet have some of the greatest needs; whether it’s transportation, medical attention, and those sorts of things.”

Buys said FCAG is learning more about the program and how they can be involved more with the Drive Clean Rural USA program. 

“One of the big questions is affordability,” Buys said. “We’re supportive if we can find ways to have cleaner air and improve the quality of air and the emissions in all communities.”

 Buys said the program is unique because it’s not just electric vehicles. Many different alternative fuels are being explored. 

Businesses and non-profits can receive incentives for fueling these alternative fueled vehicles. In the case of electric cars, Rocky Mountain Power offers incentives for installing electric vehicle charging stations, covering up to 75% of charger costs depending on the project. According to the Drive Electric Utah website, electric vehicle charging will help encourage clean transportation and improve Utah’s air quality.

Federal tax credits of up to $7500 for all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars purchased after 2010 are available. The credit amount will vary based on the battery’s capacity to power the vehicle. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, state and local incentives may also apply.

According to the Drive Electric Utah website, there is a grant for businesses, non-profit organizations, and other governmental entities to apply for reimbursement of up to 50% of the purchase and installation costs for electric vehicle supply equipment. This grant is the workplace charging program funded by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, DEQ.

For webinars and events about different types of fuel, click here.