Bay area's first natural gas filling station opens in Clearwater

The first compressed natural gas filling station in the Bay area opened today in Clearwater to much fanfare and with a promise of saving millions in fuel costs.

"This is a special day because it's the culmination of a dream," said Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard while addressing a crowd of about 100 city workers and area government leaders before today's ribbon cutting.

The CNG station lies at the entrance to the Clearwater Air Park, 1020 N. Hercules Ave. It will initially service fleet vehicles for the city as well as Verizon, but will be open to the public as soon as Pinellas County approves a zoning change for the state-of-the-art fueling facility.

Brian Langille, operations manager for Clearwater Gas, a city-owned utility, said a $450,000 grant from the federal stimulus fund helped finance construction of the $1.9 million station.

"We anticipate our payback within four years on the station," Langille said.

Hibbard said the facility will be a model for private industry to follow as the CNG technology catches on.

"In time, there will be enough private cars on the road running on CNG that you will see compressed natural gas at BP and Exxon and all the other gas stations," Hibbard said.

Conversion of a conventional car to CNG fuel costs about $6,000. The city has a converted Ford Crown Victoria that switches back and forth between CNG and gasoline with the push of a button.

The city eventually hopes to have 70 CNG garbage trucks in service, saving it $18,000 a year per truck. Langille said it will take about two years to recoup the conversion costs of each truck.

Langille said CNG is plentiful through domestic production, currently costs the equivalent of $1.77 a gallon and burns with 90 percent fewer emissions.

Langille now drives a city car that runs on CNG.

"I can't tell the difference with my Honda Civic," he said. "It rides identical."