Natural Gas Refuelling Stations
Canada's Public Station
Canada has a
network of approximately 80 public refuelling stations located in
five provinces. All of these stations dispense natural gas in
compressed form at 3,000 pounds per square inch (psi), the pressure
which is allowed within the current Canadian codes and standards.
The majority of natural gas refuelling is located at existing
retail gasoline that have a separate refuelling island for
natural gas.
Public Station Pricing
Federal regulations require that natural gas be dispensed on a
cents per kilogram basis. To convert the pump price in order to
compare directly with gasoline pricing on an energy equivalent
basis, divide the per kilogram pump price by 1.516. One kilogram of
natural gas has the same amount of energy as 1.516 litres of
gasoline.
| Station Location |
CNG Pricing
(cents per kilogram as of July 27, 2010) |
CNG Pricing
(cents per gasoline litre equivalent) |
CNG Pricing
($ per gasoline litre equivalent) |
| Vancouver |
124.9 |
82.3 |
$ .82 |
| Edmonton |
115.1 |
75.0 |
$ .75 |
| Toronto |
106.0 |
70.0 |
$ .70 |
| Source for CNG pricing: M.J. Ervin |
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Stations
A compressed natural gas (CNG) refuelling station can be
installed wherever there is a natural gas pipe in the ground.
Canada has an extensive network of underground infrastructure
that delivers natural gas within most communities. Stations may be
publicly accessible at retail sites or installed at private sites
to serve fleets whose vehicles return to the yard at night. Some of
Canada's natural gas utilities work with fleets to install
refuelling stations. There are also equipment and refuelling
station providers who install refuelling stations and, in some
cases, finance the capital cost of the stations.
There are two main types of CNG refuelling systems - fast fill
and time fill. Fast fill stations dispense CNG at rates comparable
to liquid fuels. These stations have large compressors as well has
high pressure fuel storage tanks to support rapid vehicle
refuelling. Time fill stations do not have storage tanks and they
incorporate smaller compressors. Vehicles are plugged in at
filling posts for overnight refuelling at the fleet owner's site.
No special training is required to refuel a vehicle at either a
public or private CNG refuelling station.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) refuelling stations rely on bulk
delivery of fuel via tanker trucks similar to the way in which
gasoline and diesel are delivered to refuelling stations. As LNG
needs to be stored at -160 Celsius in order to stay in a liquid
state, the fuel is delivered to the station site and stored in a
special insulated cryogenic tank. The fuel is pumped from the
storage tank and dispensed in a way that is similar to liquid
fuels. As LNG dispensers operate at cryogenic temperatures,
training is needed in order to dispense the fuel safely. Protective
gloves and face shields must also be worn by personnel.
Canada has two private LNG vehicle refuelling stations - one at
Westport Innovations which is used to refuel test vehicles
and the other at Terasen Gas in Delta, BC. The lack of
commercially-available LNG in Canada coupled with the existence of
a very extensive underground natural gas distribution system have
limited the development of LNG refuelling station infrastructure in
Canada. This situation is expected to change within the next year
or so as two of Canada's natural gas distribution companies begin
to supply LNG for the heavy truck market.