Gas Energy Australia CEO sees AEG refuelling infrastructure plan as the way forward
Plans to create a chain of CNG refuelling stations along Australia’s east coast will help the country achieve greater fuel security and reduce its carbon footprint, according to Gas Energy Australia (GEA) CEO and Director, Mike Carmody.
AGL Energy Limited announced the plan last week and plans to begin rolling out new public and onsite CNG refuelling stations starting in Melbourne later this year.
The refuelling stations will expand the range and use of CNG powered trucks.
Carmody insists this would broaden the demand for natural gas powered trucks, including LNG powered trucks.
“A lack of infrastructure is the main barrier to the uptake of CNG in Australia, so it’s very encouraging to see forward thinking in this space,” he said.
“The establishment of more CNG refuelling stations can only increase demand for CNG trucks, and improve their availability through manufacturers.
“As stated by John Beveridge in the Herald Sun, ‘the arguments for CNG are compelling’.”
AGL points out that Australia also has an abundant supply of natural gas, estimated to be equal to 184 years supply based on current production rates, according to the Federal Government’s 2012 Energy White Paper.
Yet the country is moving towards becoming completely dependent on imported liquid fuel by 2030, according to the NRMA-commissioned report, Australia’s Liquid Fuel Security Part 2, released earlier this year.
“AGL Energy Limited’s plan to increase Australia’s CNG refuelling infrastructure is an investment in the fuel of the future,” Carmody says.
“Once Australia secures more of this necessary infrastructure, natural gas’s uptake as a transport fuel will be driven by its benefits, and not hampered by the logistical considerations of refuelling.”