InterChange has been looking at the possibility of building an unmanned compressed natural gas (CNG) station near their existing Port Services facility in Front Royal, VA, and Warren County recently approved the submitted plans (article by Alex Bridges with NVDaily). CNG vehicles are quickly becoming more prevalent in the USA as a cleaner burning and cheaper alternative to oil consumption, and InterChange hopes to capitalize on this growth by adopting CNG semi-trucks for their fleet and by providing CNG for the general public. CNG semi-trucks typically have a range of around 300 miles and, for InterChange’s Port Services, this is within the range the trucks need to operate in a day. The reason the range is only 300 miles is because a tank of CNG holds less than a tank of diesel fuel. Although this range means that the drivers will need to fuel up more often (a tank of diesel fuel can typically take a truck upwards of 1,000 miles), savings will be found in the price of the fuel. While diesel prices have been dropping dramatically as of late, a gallon equivalent of CNG costs $1.80 on average in the
state of Virginia and $2.11 on average in the nation (CNGnow). Using natural gas as a fuel for the truck fleet also greatly reduces InterChange’s impact on the environment in the form of engine emissions because of the cleaner burning nature of natural gas. As InterChange continues to expand in the Front Royal vicinity, with plans to build a second facility and expanding Port Service operations, this CNG fuelling station will become more and more beneficial to the company.
WHAG did a TV spot on the new CNG station.
