NG Advantage LLC, Milton VT, has secured contracts to provide trucked compressed natural gas (CNG) to facilities operated by Pike Industries a subsidiary of Oldcastle Materials, the North American arm of CRH, and Putney Paper, a subsidiary of APC Paper Group. NG Advantage will begin deliveries in early 2013.
The multi-year contracts allow these innovative companies to realize both the economic and environmental benefits of lower cost, clean, North American natural gas. NG Advantage officials say they believe this is the first announcement of contracts for compressed natural gas delivered to enterprises beyond the pipeline in the United States.
Pipeline natural gas now costs approximately 70% less per BTU than oil or propane. This price advantage is already leading to a rebirth of American manufacturing and rapid job growth. Companies not on the pipeline, however, have found themselves at an increasing competitive disadvantage.
“A series of technologies have come together to make it possible for us to extend the benefits of natural gas beyond the pipeline,” said NG Advantage founder Tom Evslin. “Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have dramatically driven down the price of natural gas in North America. Composite materials have led to the development of practical shipping containers for compressed gas. And modern communication lets us track trucks and customer usage in real time.”
Vermont’s Governor Peter Shumlin has championed the use of natural gas for its significant economic and environmental benefits. “I congratulate these groundbreaking Vermont employers on making the switch to compressed natural gas so they can lower their energy bills and grow more jobs,” he says. “NG Advantage’s first-of-its-kind business will lead the nation as we work to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and lower carbon emissions.”
NG Advantage compresses natural gas off of existing transmission pipelines into specialized composite tube trailers built by Lincoln Composites Inc, Lincoln NE. Customers use natural gas directly from the trailers eliminating the need for onsite storage. Proprietary routing and monitoring technology assures customer supply regardless of usage fluctuations and efficient use of tractors, trailers, and compressors.
“Businesses across the region are eager to make the switch from oil and propane to lower-cost, stable, natural gas,” says NG Advantage chief executive officer Neale Lunderville. “NG Advantage is well positioned to begin service in early 2013. We have multi-year contracts in place, have received local approval, and are beginning the state land use process for our first compressor site in Milton, Vermont. We anticipate breaking ground in autumn and have already ordered the ANGI compressors and the trailers from Lincoln Composites needed for our first customers.”
NG Advantage’s first compressor station will serve enterprise customers in Vermont and adjacent New York and New Hampshire. The company plans rapid expansion throughout the northern New England region and beyond. Compressed natural gas delivered by truck is a low cost alternative to oil products for sites that use more than 150,000 gallons of oil or the equivalent each year or 100,000 gallons seasonally, according to NG Advantage company officials. Unlike liquefied natural gas (LNG), CNG is practical for medium sized industrial and institutional customers since it does not require expensive cryogenic storage at customer sites and 24/7 monitoring.