The Wall Street Journal ran a piece by reporter Benoit Faucon on the growth of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in the world. According to Faucon:
“Of the 11.4 million natural-gas vehicles currently in use world-wide, most can be found in the developing world … Pakistan led with way with 2.3 million as of December 2009, while Iran, Argentina, Brazil and India together accounted for six million more. In China, the number has more than doubled since 2007 to around half a million.”
Faucon went on to point out that despite a technology which has been in existence for nearly 80 years using a resource which is in “abundant supply,”
“The U.S. had just 110,000 of these vehicles on the road as of last year, according to industry estimates, and compressed natural gas accounted for a meager 0.1% of all on-road transportation fuel used in 2009, according to the Energy Information Administration.”
The WSJ article points out
“Supporters of compressed natural gas (CNG) technology, including T. Boone Pickens, an energy investor who holds stakes in natural-gas companies, say the federal government should do more to encourage development of natural-gas vehicles as a way to fight pollution and reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.”
and talks about potential action in the U.S Senate which would
“examine a new version of a bill providing rebates to buyers of natural-gas vehicles and grants to companies that build natural-gas refueling stations.”
For the full article click HERE (subscription may be required).
— The Pickens Team