The federal government currently allows a $.50 per gallon excise tax credit to all states dispensingCNG for vehicles. From the pricing differences, it’s easy to recognize which states are passing thatmoney on to the consumer. ( as is
the case with Questar and Oklahoma Natural Gas ) Also note thatunder the 2005 congressional energy bill which provided these incentives, the 50 cent tax credit isoffset by the same 18 cent tax excise tax which is paid at the pump for gasoline and diesel (until thenCNG, LNG, LPG and other alternative fuels were not subject to paying this “road tax”). So the neteffect is approximately 32 cents per gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE). This credit can also be madeavailable to non-taxpaying entities such as local governments and school districts indirectly.Production, transportation, taxes and profit make up the main elements of petroleum’s price to theconsumer. Unlike petroleum, CNG requires relatively little development, production, refinement ortransportation. In fact, natural gas is often discovered with petroleum and burned off (flared) as anuisance. It’s estimated that the world’s NG that is flared off in one year is equivalent to the totalenergy used in the USA in 4 months. The true odds of drilling are: of ten holes drilled, 2 will yield oil. Three will be dry and the other five willyield natural gas. Most of those over the years have been capped due to inaccessibility and lowdemand.Consider your ECON 101 class. Remember supply and demand effects? If we have a product with anover abundance (high), with a demand that at this point is relatively low; what would you expect theprice to be?
4)
REDUCE OUR DEPENDENCE on FOREIGN OIL
These words are the mission statement for theDOE. In 1969 when the DOE was created our countries oil imports were under 15%. Today, forty yearslater, our oil imports exceed 75%. President Obama said in his inaugural address, “Each day bringsfurther evidence that the ways we use energy strengthens our adversaries and threatens our planet.”
CNG,
on the other hand, is a domestic fuel. About 98% of the natural gas we use comes from righthere in North America. We export about $1.7 billion a day (that’s over $700 billion a year) to pay forforeign oil, adding to our trade deficit and weakening the dollar. By using domestic natural gas, westrengthen both our nation’s security and economy by keeping jobs and revenues at home.Every gallon equivalent of natural gas used in vehicles is one less gallon of petroleum that has to beimported. At the same time those funds we export go to finance people that don’t like us very muchand some that have made it their life’s work to destroy us. WHY not keep that money here, or at leastmost of it?
5)
LOWER MAINTENANCE
- Not only is CNG cheaper but also when used in vehicles, the engines last2 to 3 times longer and the oil only needs to be changed every 10,000 miles, unlike gasoline enginesthat require oil be changed every 3,000 miles. Mechanics with Questar (Utah’s natural gas distributor)say that vehicles that use CNG still look new, at 200,000 miles. There are CNG taxis and limos in Utahthat have logged over 1 million miles. They don’t experience the build up of hydrocarbons thatpetroleum vehicles do. That’s because carbon is like sand in an engine increasing wear and shorteningits life. Dedicated CNG vehicles are designed to run only on natural gas but there are also bi-fuelvehicles. They make the best of both worlds and have two separate fueling systems.
6)
CNG is a PLENTIFUL & RENEWABLE RESOURCE
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It is composed of over 92%methanethat is createdfrom theanaerobic decompositionof organic material and also occurs naturally deep in the earth andthroughout the solar system.
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The Salt Lake County landfill, on 6400 West, powers its buildings,heating, cooling and electricity from the methane that is piped off the landfill. Thus while petroleum isbeing produced at a snails pace at optimal conditions of pressure and temperature within the earth,methane is produced comparatively quickly and easily. The planet’s current reservoirs of knownnatural gas are enough to supply the earth’s energy needs for the next 200 years. According to a June2008 studyby Navigant Consulting, North American has at least a 120-year supply of natural gas –contradicting the notion that America is running out. Canada itself has enough to supply ourcontinents energy needs for the next 50 years according to a Vice President with Nevada gas. Theworld’s largest discovery of NG was made in early 2008 at Rawlins Wyoming. Since then, a similardiscovery has been made in Arkansas. There are at least 22 shale basins located onshore in more than20 states in the U.S. including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, West Virginia, Wyoming,Colorado, New Mexico, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan. The North Atlantic Ocean,
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