Drive for alternative fuel vehicles picks up speed

Andy Holtmann

Thursday, July 24, 1997 | 11:16 a.m.

The ongoing struggle to protect the environment has prompted many businesses and state agencies to adopt natural gas and electric powered vehicles into their fleets.

A display outside of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building on Wednesday showcased Ford Motor Co.'s electric and natural gas product line. Southwest Gas, the Nevada State Energy Office and Clark County had representatives on hand to talk about the benefits of alternative fuel.

"These vehicles offer significant emission reduction," said State Energy Program Manager James Brandmueller. "They can go just as far as regular cars and trucks and the fueling costs are cheaper."

Natural gas powered vehicles can travel anywhere between 250-300 miles before refueling. Fuel prices run about 90 cents per gallon for government use with a retail cost of $1.10.

Brandmueller said that many of the natural gas vehicles used by state agencies and businesses cost the same to purchase as regular vehicles because the dealers offer incentives when buying in bulk. Retail costs for individual consumers, however, could reach in excess of $3,000 above the price of gasoline-based vehicles.

According to Bart Peterson, fleet sales manager for Friendly Ford, the average cost of vehicles powered by natural gas runs about $5,000 more than gasoline-based vehicles. The F-series pickup, one of the more popular vehicles, runs about $19,500 retail.

The natural gas version of the same vehicle has a consumer cost of roughly $24,950. Peterson said that government agencies that purchase fleets usually get discounts of around $2,500 per vehicle.

"We have not had a lot of interest by private consumers until just recently," Peterson said. "Most of our business has been by state and government agencies, which have produced a growing demand for the alternatively fueled vehicles."

Electric vehicles can cost even more. For example, Saturn's EV1 electric car has a sticker price of around $34,000. A charging device that generates the electricity needed to run the auto costs roughly $4,000 alone.

A convenience of both electric and natural gas vehicles, though, is that they can be refueled at home. The electric vehicle simply plugs into an electrical outlet. Natural gas vehicles can be fueled by using a "fuel maker," a sort of conversion switch that pumps the lightweight gas from the home's source into the vehicle. There are also seven natural gas fueling stations throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

Some vehicles are "bi-fueled," allowing for both natural gas and regular gasoline to be used to run the automobile. The tank automatically adjusts to accommodate either fuel, making it easier if the driver runs low on natural gas and cannot get to a refueling station.

According to Jay Taylor, marketing supervisor for Southwest Gas, there are over 1,200 cars powered by natural gas in the Las Vegas area. Some of the agencies in Southern Nevada that have been the biggest users of alternative fuel include: the Regional Transportation Commission, U.S. Postal Office, Clark County, Nellis Air Force Base, and the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, and North Las Vegas.

Taylor said that he does not expect to see natural gas and electric vehicles overtake gasoline-based vehicles. With automobile manufacturers producing over 14 million vehicles a year run by gasoline, natural gas proponents say they are only trying to offer an alternative to gasoline, not compete with it.

These alternatively fueled vehicles are available to the public through some local dealers.

"We have evolved from something that someone would do in their own garage to running vehicles that can be ordered through a dealer," Taylor said.

Officials said Wednesday they expect to see an increase in both public and private use of natural gas and electric powered vehicles. Taylor said that nationally, 20 percent of all new bus orders are natural gas fueled. While the vehicle production is fairly limited right now, the growing demand could lead to mass production.