Tampa International Airport will be celebrating the grand opening of the bay area's second compressed natural gas station today.
The station is at 4750 W South Ave., near N West Shore Boulevard. It is expected to help the airport save about $1 million in fuel costs over the next five years.
The station, also open to the public, was built and will be maintained by Clean Energy, with the airport collecting rent on the property and royalties on the fuel, said Al Illustrato, TIA vice president of facilities and customer services. The area's only other natural gas station opened last year in Clearwater.
Over the next five years, the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority will spend about $1 million converting some of its fleet of maintenance and shuttle vehicles over to a more sustainable fuel, Illustrato said.
Sixteen percent of the aviation authority's 115 vehicles are already electric or hybrid. As the remaining vehicles need to be replaced, they will be switched out with vehicles that run on compressed natural gas, he said. If all goes according to plan, about 50 percent of them will be converted in five years, and about 70 percent in 10 years.
Other airports across the country are making this switch as well, Illustrato said, primarily out West.
But the station and the new vehicles aren't just about helping the airport save money on fuel. Burning natural gas creates less harmful carbon emissions than burning the equivalent amount of diesel or gasoline.
"It helps us to be a good neighbor and a good player in the environment," Illustrato said.
Natural gas prices have dropped significantly recently due to an excess of supply, while gas and diesel costs have continued to rise.
Now that there is a conveniently located natural gas station, Illustrato hopes it will encourage other businesses and government agencies that have vehicle fleets to make the conversion, as well.
The more that do, the better for the environment.
The aviation authority is just one group, he said. If more local agencies converted to natural gas, the environmental impact could be great.
"We need to and want to be a player in that, because environmental stewardship is very important," Illustrato said. "We want to be environmentally conscious to the greatest degree that we can."
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