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Signs show where a compressed natural gas station will be built on the Cherokee Nation Complex in Tahlequah, Okla., The CNG station is expected to cost approximately $800,000 and be completed by mid-August. Project funds were awarded to the CN through the Department of Energy’s stimulus funding. TESINA JACKSON/CHEROKEE PHOENIX
 




By TESINA JACKSON
Reporter

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation has started building a compressed natural gas fueling station at its Tribal Complex to provide easier access to the fuel for those with CNG-ready vehicles. 

CNG is a gas fuel used as an alternative to the standard gas fuel. The station will be located next to the Cherokee Nation’s Businesses Outpost 1, a convenient store that offers gas fuel. The store is located on the Tribal Complex along Highway 62 south of Tahlequah.

“The hope that by building a CNG fueling station, we can encourage use of CNG vehicles by the public and large organizations,” Bobby Short, CN Environmental Programs director, said. “The current challenge with using CNG as a fuel source in vehicles is limited access to refueling stations. We are getting in on the beginning of what we hope will be a larger network of stations.”

CNG is cheaper than the cost of today’s regular gasoline prices, costing 50 percent less than gasoline. It’s made by compressing natural gas to less than 1 percent of its volume at standard atmospheric pressure. It also emits up to 90 percent fewer emissions than gasoline, according to www.cngnow.com. 

“The strategy behind the network of stations is that providing easier access to CNG will eventually influence automakers to manufacture more CNG ready vehicles,” Short said. “Since CNG is the same gas that fuels your home, a slow-fill apparatus can be installed at your home to fill your vehicle overnight. Unlike a home unit, this location will be a fast-fill station that will fill a vehicle in a matter of minutes.” 

Short added that the tribe is planning to buy CNG-ready vehicles in the future.

The station is estimated to cost approximately $800,000 and be completed by mid-August. The funds were awarded to the CN through the Department of Energy’s stimulus funding. 

tesina-jackson@cherokee.org • 918-453-5000, ext. 6139