Fargo Receives First-Ever State Grant To Study CNG For City Vehicles -- $50,000 Grant

PrairieBizMagazine is reporting:

In August, the city of Fargo, N.D., received the first grant ever awarded through the North Dakota Commerce Department’s State Energy Program to study the feasibility of using compressed natural gas (CNG) to fuel city vehicles. The $50,000 grant will be used to finance a feasibility being conducted by Wenck Associates Inc., to explore the costs and best practices of converting the city’s fleet, the costs of establishing the fueling infrastructure, safety requirements, overall short-term and long-term risks and mitigation strategies and the expected return on investment. The study is expected to be complete later this year.

Fargo was selected to receive the grant because city officials had already spent several years exploring the potential use of CNG as a method of lowering the city’s fuel costs and reducing vehicle emissions. The city has also carried out a successful effort to increase the use of public transportation within the past decade and as a result requires more fuel for its fleet. Ridership on the metro’s public buses has tripled since 2004, up to 1.2 million riders annually, and the city currently spends about $4 million each year on transportation fuel for its fleet, most of which is diesel for buses.