Log In


Reset Password
News Education Local News Nation & World New Mexico

Wheels spinning on cars of future

Alternative-fuel options draw interested crowd

Auto-fleet managers in the Four Corners got a look Tuesday at the future – or what could be the future – in the way of alternative-fuel vehicles.

A propane-powered pickup used by Mesa Verde National Park and two electric cars – a privately owned Tesla and a Nissan Leaf from Economy Nissan – were on display at the La Plata County road and bridge yard on South Camino del Rio.

A Farmington auto dealership that had pledged a bi-fuel vehicle – gasoline and compressed natural gas – was a no-show because it had sold all its stock.

The occasion was the third meeting of area fleet managers hosted by the Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency, more commonly known as 4CORE. The gathering Tuesday was sponsored by 4CORE through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Refuel Colorado grant and by BP.

Executive Director Gregg Dubit said 4CORE is “trying to facilitate a dialog about alternative-fuel vehicles. In the next few years, we could see a number of them here.”

Two dozen people were present, among them representatives of school districts, municipal and county governments, and economic-development agencies.

Christa Rommé, from Four Corners Economic Development in Farmington, was on a scouting mission.

“I’m looking for information to help diversify our economy,” Rommé said. “We drill a lot of fuel (natural gas) out of the ground, so it would be nice to be more sustainable.”

In Durango, compressed natural gas, or CNG, is not reality, Dubit said. Instead, it’s the chicken-and-egg puzzle.

“We don’t have compressed natural gas vehicles, but we don’t have any places to fuel them,” he said.

It’s a different story in Grand Junction, said Darren Starr, manager of solid waste, streets and stormwater for the city, and Jay Valentine, internal services manager. They spoke about the two-year partnership with Monument Oil Co. in a CNG fueling station.

“It’s gone very well,” Starr said. “I don’t think there’s been any negatives.

“The city runs 12 garbage trucks, a dump truck and a street sweeper on CNG,” Starr said. “The public loves it because there’s no noise, no odor.”

Grand Valley Transit there operates two buses on CNG, and there are about 200 fill-ups a month by private parties, he said. The proximity to Interstate 70 attracts drivers transferring fleet vehicles east and west, he said.

Ed Dingledine, director of transportation at Durango School District 9-R, wasn’t able to attend. He said in a phone interview that the district still is studying the use of alternative-fuel vehicles.

“I lean toward liquid propane,” Dingledine said. “I’m putting together some numbers for next year because we have some issues on how we’d use them.”

The district has 35 diesel-powered school buses, Dingledine said. Alternative-fuel vehicles could do the job around town but could prove problematic for hauling students to extracurricular activities out of town.

The city of Durango has taken a first step to support owners of electric vehicles with the recent installation of three charging stations with two cables each in the Transit Center parking lot on Eighth Street at Camino del Rio.

The fee is $2 an hour, plus plugging the corresponding parking meter.

Mary Beth Miles, the city of Durango’s sustainability coordinator, said an $18,000 grant from the Colorado Energy Office covered 73 percent of the charging stations.

Basic infrastructure for charging stations are in place along Main Avenue, but the actual stations have not been installed.

Miles said that based on regional sales, about 12 electric vehicles circulate in La Plata and Montezuma counties and in the Farmington area. Additionally, the city has received numerous phone calls and emails from potential visitors about the availability of charging stations, she said.

Roy Petersen, city operations director, said plans call for switching 1-ton service vehicles to compressed natural gas. Five to eight units in the 35-vehicle fleet are replaced every year, he said.

The city intends to buy new instead of retrofitting, Petersen said.

A missing piece of the puzzle is an automotive shop, which would require special equipment, to service the vehicles, Petersen said.

daler@durangoherald.com



Reader Comments