Compressed natural gas (CNG) has been dubbed by many in the energy sector as “the transition fuel” for Trinidad and Tobago, because of its accessibility and its low carbon emissions.
As oil and gas goes the way of the dinosaur, the fuel was supposed to drive TT to the future with the National Gas Company (NGC) at the wheel – promoting and supporting a CNG industry that would see conversions of gasoline-burning cars, buses, maxi taxis and trucks, as well as the introduction of brand-new CNG vehicles.
The initiative is also supposed to drive TT to reduce its carbon footprint, especially since it has been marked as one of the top ten producers of carbon dioxide emissions over the past decade.
But since NGC began its drive to convert the country to CNG, it is arguable that not much has been done, with a mere 15,500 CNG vehicles on the road to date compared to hundreds of thousands of oil-burning vehicles, issues from several different bodies over the operating costs and overall costs of using converted CNG vehicles and emerging competition coming from electric and hybrid vehicles.
Questions now have to be asked – is it too late to convert TT to CNG? Would demand for hybrid and electric cars outpace the demand for CNG, and has NGC’s drive to convert TT to CNG run out of gas?
In the driver's seat
When NGC CNG assumed stewardship of the CNG industry in 2014, TT had about 1,522 CNG vehicles in TT. All of these vehicles, NGC told Business Day, were converted from gasoline burning vehicles to CNG.
In most converted vehicles there was still a need for gas since it is used to start the car, but overall performance of the vehicle would be dependent on burning CNG. Today, 90 per cent of the vehicles were converted from diesel and premium gas burning vehicles – the remainder were showroom models of CNG cars.
NGC CNG, in correspondence with Business Day, added that the country has gone from zero OEM (original equipment manufacture) model vehicles seven years ago, to more than 20 models spanning sedans and light, medium and heavy duty trucks, maxi taxis and buses.
The Public Transport Service Corporation Trinidad and Tobago, in correspondence with Business Day, added that about 71 of its buses utilise CNG – an average of 21 per cent of its fleet.
[caption id="attachment_912019" align="alignnone" width="683"] A CNG filling station at City Gate, Port of Spain. The National Gas Company says the demand for CNG has been growing by 25 per cent or better since 2014. - PHOTO BY JEFF MAYERS[/caption]
It added that it is in the process of considering a proposal to acquire 300 more buses, of which 240 will be CNG vehicles.
Through its automobile company – Routes Auto – maxi taxi associations have also imported 50 minibuses, which are currently on the road.
All of these vehicles are included in the total of 15,500 registered CNG vehicles.
The effect of the use of these vehicles, according to NGC CNG, is a notable reduction in CO2 emissio
