Why doesn't the US have more CNG vehicles on the roads.

[nerddason]

I constantly read about the massive amounts of compressed natural gas in the states and yet we have very few CNG cars available to us. If the government would have spent the money they wasted on corn based ethanol on a CNG infrastructure then we would be saving $20-30 dollars or more on a fill up plus not spending our money on home energy instead of purchasing foreign oil. Auto manufacturers can make a duel fuel setup that allows one to switch fuels on the go. CNG tank for short-range and gasoline for extended range. Is there something I am missing or does this make sense?

[Chris V.]

The CNG cars and trucks we do have (mostly trucks due to the extra space they have) are hampered with having to have so much extra space for the tanks and the fact that CNG doesn't get the fuel mileage that gasoline does. So you need to use more of it to go the same distance. Having to have much larger, heavier tanks to store the fuel in addition to using more of the fuel makes it not make any sense for things smaller than full size trucks and vans. yes, smaller lighter tanks have been developed and put into use in smaller cars but they are still pretty large and heavy compared to a gasoline tank, and the fuel is under high pressure (usually 3200 or so PSI).

 

CNG is also a fossil fuel and there is actually less of it than there is oil. While natural gas reserves in the United States are still considerable, they are not inexhaustible. Some predict that there are enough natural gas reserves remaining to last another 67 years, assuming that the 2003 level of production continues. if there were more CNG vehciles than the estimated 130,000 in current use, we'd run out of it sooner. This is why EVs are the wave of the futer, as we can generate electricity from many, many sources, including wind and solar.