In 2010, the Oklahoma legislature passed Resolution 74-78f to encourage development of CNG refueling stations:
“It shall be the goal to have at least one public CNG fueling station located approximately every one hundred (100) miles along the entire interstate highway system in the state by the year 2015. The goal shall increase to at least one public CNG fueling station approximately every fifty (50) miles by the year 2025.”Now, a path to meeting that goal seems to be shaping up leveraging Oklahoma’s entrepreneurs and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA).
- Purchase of 35 CNG powered vehicles per year starting in 2013
- Toll Plaza remodels at Vinita on Will Rogers (2013), Walters on H.E Bailey (2014), Eufaula and Antlers on Indian Nation (2015), SH 99 on Cimarron (2016), and Stroud on Turner (2017)
The sole turnpike plaza that currently offers CNG refueling is the Stroud plaza on the Turner Turnpike and while that little ol’ Oklahoma Natural Gas station is useful when low on fuel, it is very tired and inadequate.
Benefits:
- Showcase the economics and feasibility of using Oklahoma’s natural gas for transportation to turnpike travelers.
- Increase revenue for OTA through greater use of turnpikes. (Who minds paying tolls when you saving so much on fuel?)
- Increase high profit margin concessions for plaza concession operators. Travelers in CNG vehicles will certainly refuel prior to exiting Oklahoma to the northeast (Vinita), south (Antlers), and southwest (Walters). Coincidentally, those are next three toll plazas slated for remodeling.
CNG is often called “green times 2”, or #greenX2 in Twitter-speak, due to its cheapness and its environment-saving credentials. Now the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority has the ability to increase its revenue and reduce expenses by integrating CNG refueling into its planned toll plaza remodels.
Green boxes indicate upcoming OTA convenience plaza remodels. Orange dots indicate existing CNG stations. (Map from cngnow.com) |