Town officials in North Hempstead, N.Y., located just east of Queens on Long Island, have put the wheels in motion to begin the development of new compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling infrastructure.
The town board voted unanimously to begin receiving bids for CNG equipment that is likely to be installed at the town's public works yard on West Shore Rd. in Port Washington. Coverage from Newsday notes that the project has received two supporting grants: one totaling $570,900 from the U.S. Department of Energy, and another $1 million award from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
The former grant is set to expire in September, so pre-construction of the new CNG station will need to begin by then. The grants will also help defray the cost of acquiring natural gas vehicles for North Hempstead's fleet – no NGVs are currently among the town's mix of cars, trucks and other equipment. However, the town intends to deploy some NGVs, as well as require its contractors to operate a certain percentage of NGVs – mainly refuse vehicles.
The town offices can be reached at (516) 869-6311.
