BRIDGEPORT, W. Va. — An automotive television program was in Bridgeport Tuesday to feature a company utilizing compressed natural gas as a transportation fuel source.
MotorWeek shot at IGS Energy’s Bridgeport station to highlight the corridor they’ve built along I-79.
“We’re very excited about the fact that MotorWeek is in town taking a look at what we’ve done,” TJ Meadows, CNG Business Development Manager with IGS Energy said. “WE at IGS, our shareholders are West Virginians. We’re vested in this state, so anytime we can have a national publication come in and shine a positive spotlight on this state, it’s a great thing.”
The business model for IGS has been to partner with natural gas companies and the states through the Clean Cities Initiative to build the infrastructure and then education the public about compressed natural gas.
With this model, IGS opened a facility in Bridgeport in September 2013, Charleston in October 2013 and Jane Lew in December of 2013.
“What we’ve seen by using that model, is the ability to create three stations very, very quickly, where other states don’t have any stations,” Meadows said. “I think when MotorWeek saw what we had done and how we had done it, I think they were clearly interested in taking a look at that.”
The use of compressed natural gas as a transportation fuel source has been utilized for decades, but only with recent improvements the technology and rising gasoline prices has it become a more mainstream option.
“You talk about the average user being able to save anywhere from 30 to 40 percent over traditional fuels. That’s obviously a very big savings,” he said. “You also add environmental benefits. Less carbon dioxide, less particular matter out of the tailpipe, so it makes for a cleaner environment.
Another added benefit is more jobs in the natural gas industry as a new use creates more demand.
Meadows is looking forward to showing off what they’ve done to the country, but wouldn’t be surprised if West Virginians learn about the progress of the industry here.
“We’re actually a leader in the industry in this state,” he said. “Often times in West Virginia, we talk about being behind in this category or that category. It’s nice to be able to say that when it comes to using a domestic resource that we have right here in the state as a transportation fuel, that we’re actually toward the top of the heap.”
The episode of MotorWeek featuring IGS Energy in Bridgeport is scheduled to air January 17 on PBS and then again on the Velocity Network the following week.