Trending Now: Compressed Natural Gas

Heath Ward, executive director of Springdale Water Utilities, wants to be a trendsetter.

Authorized to purchase two pickup trucks that run on Compressed Natural Gas, or CNG, Ward said Springdale should lead the way as Northwest Arkansas transitions to clean-burning fuel for its utility fleets and service vehicles.

Ward got an assist from Kum & Go, which, thanks to federal rebates, is installing two CNG stations in Springdale. One is opening this year on U.S. 412 East and the other is opening next year on Interstate 49 at Elm Springs Road.

Compressed natural gas burns cleaner than traditional petrol. It’s cheap, abundant and adds life to an engine. Ward will keep an eye on the pickup trucks, and if the numbers look good, he’ll implement CNG for the entire fleet through the ongoing cycle of vehicle replacement. Springdale water would be the region’s first public entity to convert.

Since the recession ended, the manufacture of alternative fuel vehicles has surged, and in the United States around 50 manufacturers are producing natural gas engines, according to industry advocate Natural Gas Vehicles for America.

The auto industry drives the global CNG market, and its use has taken root in South America and Asia. Here in the U.S. it’s a different story. Of the more than 15 million natural gas vehicles on the road today, fewer than 150,000 — mostly transit buses — are in the U.S., according to industry estimates.

California, the nation’s pioneer in environmental innovation, leads the country with 304 operating or planned CNG stations. Arkansas has 15, and nearly half of those are concentrated in Little Rock and Fort Smith. 

On the big stage, Ward is a bit late to be a trendsetter. But here in Northwest Arkansas, he just might be the herald of a new age.