A Deschutes County truck is being used in a natural gas refueling study. The truck will be plugged in to a residential gas line to refuel every night.
The technology was developed by the OSU Cascade campus in Bend. The Deschutes County truck has a bi-fuel system allowing it to use natural gas and gasoline. Chris Doty is Deschutes County Public Works Director.
Doty: “What we’re testing with this pilot project is a compression of natural gas to allow vehicles to operate off compressed natural gas, which is not an uncommon fuel. However, what is uncommon is the ability to fuel up with natural gas.”
The technology allows the system to use a residential natural gas service as opposed to finding a refueling station. Doty says there are very few natural gas stations. Deschutes County will be testing the technology for the next two years.