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Straits Times 9 Sep 05 Switch from diesel to CNG fails to click By Christopher Tan Senior Correspondent Retailers won't risk more refuelling spots; transport firms won't risk more CNG vehicles LONG-TERM plans to convert diesel-driven vehicles to environmentally friendlier compressed natural gas (CNG) models have hit the skids. Five years after a government feasibility study, and three years after the first and only CNG refuelling station opened on Jurong Island, fleet operators have not abandoned diesel and are not about to. Fuel retailers are not willing to risk setting up more refuelling stations while there are so few CNG vehicles on the road, while transport companies are not willing to buy CNG vehicles until more stations are open. 'It's a chicken-and-egg situation that no one can resolve. And now, going to Jurong Island is a nightmare,' said a vehicle supplier. Security at Jurong Island, where the solitary $2.6 million station is located, has been tightened since the Sept 11 attacks in the United States, making it inconvenient for drivers. The trial fleet of CNG taxis, supplied by Toyota in March 2003, has since been shipped back to Japan. According to the Land Transport Authority, there are only nine vehicles running on CNG here. Fleet operators targeted by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to spearhead the CNG revolution remain unconvinced that natural gas is the way to go. ComfortDelGro Corp, the largest transport group here, was the first to try out CNG vehicles. Its two CNG buses have together clocked nearly 170,000km since their launch in 2002, but the company is now looking at other options, like vehicles that run on Euro IV diesel - the latest generation fuel that meets a stringent European emission standard. They are about 95 per cent cleaner than the previous Euro III vehicles. Singapore now uses the Euro II standard, but will leapfrog to Euro IV in October next year. 'Euro IV diesel is as good a solution, if not better, for Singapore in terms of environmental impact, safety considerations and commercial economics,' ComfortDelGro spokesman Tammy Tan said. 'In terms of cost-effectiveness, the Euro IV diesel option is more sustainable in the long run.' CNG buses cost about 40 per cent more than their diesel counterparts. Running costs are also higher because CNG vehicles need more complex maintenance and have poorer mileage. A CNG taxi, for instance, can travel 250km between refuelling, versus 500km for a diesel model. 'Our studies have also found that CNG vehicles may not be as efficient as Euro IV diesel ones,' said Ms Tan. 'In addition, infrastructure costs related to CNG refuelling stations are prohibitively high, costing an estimated $150 million.' Gas retailers like SembGas and CityGas had plans to set up more refuelling stations, but have not done so to date and are unlikely to do so any time soon. 'Setting up these stations require substantial investment,' said a CityGas spokesman. 'We need several partners to help defray the cost.' The only glimmer of hope for CNG vehicles lies in a plan to convert Singapore's town gas pipe network to carry natural gas. This would make supplying gas to fuel stations swifter and safer than trucking. But the CityGas spokesman said she does not know when this might happen. 'We have submitted our proposals to the Energy Market Authority and are waiting for its approval,' she said. 'The project also involves a substantial investment.' Even if approval is given, end users would not be in a hurry to ditch diesel, given ComfortDelGro's experience. NEA, which has been advocating CNG vehicles because they emit little or no fine particulate matter, said: 'While NEA encourages the use of CNG vehicles...the fleet operators and motorists have to make the commercial decision whether to switch.' links Related articles on Singapore: green energy renewable energy, energy saving: issues, efforts, discussions |
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