BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — Compressed natural gas is now a fuel option at a Harrison County gas station.
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin joined officials with IGS Energy to open the company’s first compressed natural gas fueling station in West Virginia on Tuesday at the “On The Run” Exxon which is located off Interstate 79 at Charles Point in Bridgeport.
“Today in Bridgeport, we’re selling natural gas for $2.19 a gasoline gallon equivalent compared to unleaded gas, at the same retail facility, that’s selling for $3.49 (a gallon),” said T.J. Meadows, West Virginia business manager for IGS Energy.
The station is the first of three IGS plans to build along I-79. A similar site is scheduled to open in Charleston by mid-November with a station in Jane Lew set to go into operation before the end of December.
Meadows said the early customers who will use the Bridgeport station, along with the future stations, include Antero Resources, Chesapeake Energy, EQT and West Virginia Division of Highways.
The compressed natural gas fuel, though, will be available for public purchase.
“Whether it’s business, and certainly we do hope those fleets come on board, or whether it’s an average consumer that is tired of spending their dollar on foreign oil and they want to run their car on a domestic fuel, it’s 24/7 access, come one, come all,” said Meadows.
In Bridgeport, the compressed natural gas that is being sold comes from a Dominion Hope gas line.
The gas is run through an IGS compressor and then stored in a series of storage cylinders at about 4,500 psi until it is transferred into vehicles during purchases.
Meadows, who was a guest on Tuesday’s MetroNews “Talkline,” said the state’s available infrastructure tax credit was one of the main reasons why IGS chose West Virginia for the station developments.