SDG&E;, Firm Go for the Conversion
Hawthorne Power Systems and San Diego Gas & Electric Co. are looking for a few converts--that is, companies that are willing to switch the fuel in their light trucks and vans from pollution-belching gasoline to cleaner-burning compressed natural gas.
In a move that will make it easier for fleet owners to switch to non-polluting fuel, Hawthorne Power Systems, with financial backing from SDG&E;, later this month will become the first local company capable of retrofitting fleets of light trucks and vans through the addition of equipment that allows the vehicles to burn compressed natural gas (CNG).
The conversions, which take about a day and cost about $4,000 per vehicle, will be completed at Hawthorne Power Systems’ facility in Kearny Mesa.
The push toward such conversions contrasts with a strategy adopted by Southern California Gas Co., which is instead working with Detroit’s Big Three auto makers to develop a new generation of trucks and vans that are factory-equipped to burn natural gas.
SDG&E; officials acknowledge that the long-term success of natural gas as an automotive fuel depends on Detroit building factory-equipped vehicles that operate on CNG. But they also view conversions as an immediate way to show Southern Californians that natural gas is a viable fuel for trucks and, eventually, automobiles.
SDG&E; has converted some of its own vehicles to natural gas. But the closest commercial company that does the conversions is in Long Beach, said Howard Levin, SDG&E;’s new products and service manager.
The conversion program to be run in conjunction with Hawthorne is part of the “educational role” SDG&E; has taken on in its attempt, along with other natural gas companies nationwide, to make clean-burning CNG a viable option, Levin said. Natural gas companies such as SDG&E; would benefit from the move to natural gas-fueled vehicles because the market for their energy would be expanded.
SDG&E;, which is offering rebates to help cut the cost of converting to natural gas, last year opened San Diego County’s first natural gas pump at a Unocal service station in Vista. The utility recently announced plans for a second pump at a Shell station in Escondido. It also has utility-owned CNG refueling stations at three locations.
Nationwide, natural gas suppliers are pushing fleet owners to recognize CNG as a viable option to unleaded gasoline. Public Service Co. of Colorado has opened a subsidiary that installs natural gas pumps at service stations and converts vehicles.
In a little more than a year, the subsidiary, Natural Fuels Corp., has retrofitted nearly 400 vehicles at a conversion center near Denver’s Stapleton Airport. The majority of those vehicles “are from large (government or industry) fleets,” according to Public Service Co. spokeswoman Connie Holubar.
Natural Fuels Corp., which already has installed natural gas fuel pumps at eight Amoco service stations, will soon announce plans to add the pumps at another dozen stations, Holubar said. The installation of natural gas pumps, although costly, is relatively easy because the devices are simply hooked into a nearby natural gas distribution line.
Fleets are a logical choice for natural gas conversions because of the capital expense involved. Although it can cost as much as $4,000 to convert a vehicle, fleet operating and maintenance costs plummet dramatically, and capital costs can be recouped in just two to three years, said Hawthorne Power Systems executive Scott Smith.
Savings are driven largely by the fact that natural gas costs about 70 cents a gallon, contrasted with more than $1 a gallon for unleaded gasoline. Additionally, “you save dramatically on wear and tear on the engine because of how clean the fuel burns,” Smith said. “Even after 100,000 miles, the engine is going to look brand-new . . . which is unheard of in gasoline-burning engines.”
Although SDG&E; and Hawthorne, which sells and repairs Caterpillar earth-moving equipment, firmly believe in the future of natural gas as a fuel for vehicles, they caution that conversions won’t make economic sense in all cases.
To start, Hawthorne will convert only “clean” vehicles, because “trucks that do not run clean on gasoline will not run clean on natural gas,” Smith said. “That would defeat the whole purpose.” Additionally, state pollution-control regulations prohibit the conversion of some types of vehicles, so Hawthorne is concentrating on van and small-truck conversions.
There are a few other business considerations that might make conversion less attractive.
“You do lose some cargo space (when tanks are installed), and, because engines aren’t designed for higher compression ratios, you do lose some horsepower,” Smith said.
Those drawbacks will be eliminated during the coming decade as truck manufacturers ready vehicles that will come off the assembly line with natural gas tanks as original equipment, Levin said.
The first of those factory-equipped trucks, to be manufactured by General Motors, should appear on Southern California highways early next year, according to Southern California Gas spokesman Jack Smith. Ford and Chrysler are expected to subsequently introduce trucks and vans with natural-gas tanks and engines that are equipped to burn natural gas.
“Our market approach is to develop the (new trucks and vans) and then look at a few of the major fleet operators who can be provided with the best possible vehicles,” Smith said.
Southern California Gas has made arrangements for 51 natural gas refueling stations, most of them at companies or government agencies that will take part in demonstration projects.
“There are significantly greater emissions reductions with the new engines,” Smith said. “You get emissions numbers that are one-half or one-third what’s available with current, converted vehicles.”
Gov. Pete Wilson earlier this month signed into law legislation that clears the way for natural gas utilities to sell their product to third-party retailers, who can then sell the fuel to the public. Previously, gas utilities were the only companies legally allowed to sell natural gas to consumers.
