BAY MINETTE  – In an effort to help protect the environment and reduce the country’s depend-

ence on foreign oil, North Baldwin Utilities (NBU) has acquired a Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) and

constructed a filling station to fuel it.

The 2010 Honda Civic GX is a dedicated compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle, meaning it op-

erates exclusively on clean, efficient natural gas.

CNG is the cleanest burning alternative transportation fuel and has fewer emissions than

any other vehicle fuel being used today. When used as transportation fuel, natural gas can

reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 to 29 percent compared with diesel and gasoline

fueled vehicles, respectively, according to studies by the California Air Resources Board and

other organizations. Compared to its companion gasoline Civic, the CNG powered Civic produces 95 percent fewer emissions of nonmethane hydrocarbons, and 75 percent less emissions of

nitrogen oxides emissions that contribute to ozone formation. This is especially important to

Alabama since 25 percent of our carbon dioxide pollution comes from transportation according

to the Energy Information Administration. Natural Gas is not only environmentally friendly, but also

convenient and abundant with a well-established pipeline infrastructure to deliver natural gas to

almost every urban area and most suburban areas in the U.S. And, more than 80 percent of this

natural gas is domestically produced – making the country less dependent on foreign oil.

According to NGVAmerica, there are currently more than 1,100 CNG fueling stations in the U.S.

and about half are open to the public. CNG can also be distributed at home with a vehicle refuel-

ing appliance which works by compressing and feeding natural gas from a home’s natural gas

line directly to the NGV.

Not only convenient and abundant, natural gas costs, on average, one-third less than conven-

tional gasoline at the pump. In addition to lower prices at the pump, NGVs also have lower main-

tenance costs. Because natural gas burns so cleanly, it results in less wear and tear on the en-

gine and extends the time between tune-ups and oil changes.

There are more than 110,000 natural-gas vehicles on U.S. roads today and more than 11 million

worldwide according to NGVAmerica. About 30 different manufacturers produce 100 models of

light, medium and heavy-duty NGV vehicles and engines in the U.S. alone.