While private companies have reported benefits from using or offering compressed natural gas, several cities and utilities in Arkansas have also turned to the alternative fuel source. Springdale Water Utilities added CNG trucks to its fleet last year, and the city of Little Rock has been purchasing more of the vehicles.
Wendell Jones, the director of fleet services for the city of Little Rock, said he hopes to have between 20 and 25 percent of the city’s fleet of 800 on-road vehicles using alternative fuel or energy sources in the next year and a half. The city currently has 17 CNG vehicles with three more arriving in the next couple of weeks, as well as 24 electric vehicles and 13 that run on a hybrid of gas and electricity.
In addition to a grant from the Arkansas Energy Office to build a CNG station at 501 Ferry St., the city has received $24,500 to purchase new CNG vehicles and $26,000 to convert vehicles to CNG.
Each CNG vehicle costs about $6,000-$7,000 more than a regular vehicle, Jones said, but the city is currently saving a total of about $23,000 per year in fuel costs. Jones said that also doesn’t include savings from less maintenance and the benefit of lower emissions.
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