Dan Piller of the Des Moines Register reports on the opening of Iowa’s first natural gas fueling station, with more on the way. The article tells the story of Christian Maher, a construction business owner who purchased a bi-fuel truck in California and saved hundreds on fuel as he made his cross-country trip home.
“Christian Maher of Ankeny was more than pleased with the first Iowa fill-up of his Chevrolet Silverado pickup Monday at Krueger’s BP on Iowa Highway 141 just north of Interstate Highway 80.
Maher put the equivalent of 10 gallons of compressed natural gas in the bi-fuel truck, at a cost of $1.99 per gallon. That is $1.33 less than gasoline would cost and $1.80 per gallon less than what truckers would pay for diesel.
“I got the truck in California and drove it back to Iowa, filling it with natural gas along the way, and it cost me $230 for fuel. I figure that unleaded gasoline might have cost me up to $1,000.”
Maher operates a home repair and construction business in Ankeny, and he wanted a natural gas-powered vehicle to save money. The Krueger station will be, at least for the time being, Iowa’s only natural gas dispenser for the public.
The Krueger pump will be joined later this year or next by a similar dispenser by Clean Fuels Inc. at the Flying J truck stop at I-80 and Douglas Avenue in Urbandale.”
