Equitable Gas to Build Public Natural Gas Station

Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection awarded a $700,000 alternative fuel grant to Equitable Gas Company for the construction of a compressed natural gas station in Pittsburgh. The station would fuel vehicles running on natural gas.

Equitable Gas spokesman Scott Waitlevertch says the station will be built in the Strip District and will serve primarily to refuel government and private automobile fleets.

But Waitlevertch added that the public is also free to use the facility, making it the first CNG station in the region to offer open service. He says the half-dozen stations currently around Pittsburgh are used for private fleets.

The $700,000 grant will only partially fund the $2 million project, which Waitlevertch says will be finished by the year’s end.

Waitlevertch says natural gas automobiles are growing in popularity because the fuel is cheaper and cleaner than gasoline or diesel. He says the Port Authority of Allegheny County is considering future use of natural gas buses to save money and reduce air pollution.