The use of natural gas as a cheaper, cleaner-burning fuel for fleet vehicles is gaining traction among some U.S. businesses that operate route systems, including Avista Corp. and Waste Management Inc. here.

The two companies are developing natural gas fueling infrastructure at their main offices here to fill fleet trucks that run on compressed natural gas. Altogether, they're spending more than $10 million on the projects and vehicles.

Specifically, Waste Management of Spokane, a subsidiary of Houston-based Waste Management Inc., by October will use 20 new collection trucks fueled nightly with compressed natural gas (CNG) at its Spokane Valley operations center, at 11321 E. Indiana. The new trucks will be used primarily for picking up recyclables and yard waste.

The company bought the natural gas-fueled trucks for about $6.5 million and spent $2 million for the fueling infrastructure that is equipped eventually to fill 39 CNG trucks, or 60 percent of its 65-truck fleet, says Ken Gimpel, municipal relations manager at Waste Management of Spokane.

Early this year, Avista began purchasing several half-ton pickup trucks that use compressed natural gas fuel for its route services, such as for meter reading. Those CNG trucks now total 12 for its Spokane routes, and another 10 for Spokane are on order. The trucks are filled at a fueling station now being upgraded at the company's headquarters, at 1411 E. Mission, at a cost of about $1 million, says Avista spokeswoman Jessie Wuerst.

CNG is one of two forms of natural gas used to power vehicles, with the other being liquefied natural gas (LNG). Both are sold in units of diesel- or gasoline-gallon equivalents based on the energy content of a gallon of gasoline or diesel fuel, the U.S. Department of Energy says on its website. The agency also says that natural gas vehicles emit 60 to 90 percent fewer smog-producing pollutants, and 30 to 40 percent fewer greenhouse emissions than petroleum-fueled counterparts.

As of the end of August, CNG was selling at $2.26 per diesel gallon equivalent, or about half that of diesel prices at a U.S. average of $4.09 a gallon. LNG at that time was selling at about $2.87 per diesel gallon equivalent.

Wuerst says in a company website blog that the newer Avista trucks have a range of about 250 miles using CNG, averaging 11 to 13 miles per gasoline equivalent gallon, which is about the same as a gasoline-powered truck.

While other companies with large fleets may be considering a switch to CNG-fueled vehicles, one holdup is that the alternative fuel isn't sold to the public yet in many cities, including Spokane.

However, that scenario may soon change. At least two projects are planned in the Inland Northwest to sell natural gas as fuel for vehicles as early as next year.

Avista is building a new CNG fueling station at 2406 N. Dollar, in Spokane Valley. That facility is scheduled to be completed by early next year at a cost of about $1 million. As soon as the Washington state Utilities and Transportation Commission sets a rate for public sales of the fuel, Avista's Dollar Road station will be able to sell compressed natural gas to others, Wuerst says.

Wuerst says Avista doesn't know exactly when the commission will determine the rate.

"The plan ultimately calls for, when we get that, there will be a credit card reader at the station, and probably we'll work with businesses that have fleets as we pilot the system," she says.

Separately, Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a Seal Beach, Calif.-based provider of natural gas for transportation use in North America, plans in 2013 or 2014 to install a liquefied natural gas station for semitrucks at a Pilot Flying J truck stop in Post Falls, at 3636 W. Fifth.

Greg Roche, a Clean Energy Fuels vice president of national accounts and infrastructure, says each station such as the one planned in Post Falls costs about $2 million to install. He adds that the company began a partnership with Knoxville, Tenn.-based Pilot Flying J about a year ago to build natural gas fueling stations at Flying J stations located along interstates across the U.S.

Of the Post Falls station, Roche says, "It will start off as a liquefied natural gas station, but any time there is local demand, we can easily install some additional equipment to make it a CNG (compressed natural gas) station as well."

"There's a tremendous amount of interest because, first of all from an economic standpoint, saving a $1 or more a gallon on your fuel, that captures everyone's interest," he says. "There's also an interest in using more domestic supplies and cheaper fuel that's better for the environment."

The CNG-fueled vehicles often are chosen as an option for commercial fleets that make multiple stops within shorter-distance city routes, with the trucks then returning to the operations center at the end of the day for refueling, says Sean Wine, a Clean Energy senior business development manager. He adds that long-haul semitruck operators prefer liquefied natural gas as an alternative fuel option because it stores onboard in a larger capacity in liquid form than does a gaseous fuel.

A majority of current vehicles that use natural gas fuels were converted by manufacturers from conventional combustion engines into natural gas-fueled or dual-fuel vehicles that could run on both gasoline and natural gas, Wine says. However, vehicle manufacturers are expected next year to begin building a larger number of original natural gas-fueled trucks and vehicles, he adds.

"Almost every OEM (original equipment manufacturer), as well as engine manufacturers, are getting into this market," he says. "They see there's a huge demand among the trucking fleets out there to use a cheaper, cleaner domestic fuel source."

Gimpel, at Waste Management of Spokane, says the CEO of its parent company has pledged to switch to as many natural gas-fueled trucks as possible for its operations across the U.S. because of the cleaner-burning and cost-saving features. He says the new trucks also run more quietly than diesel ones, and the alternative eliminates diesel fumes.

Waste Management's newer trucks here are vehicles built by Peterbuilt Motors Co. with only the natural-gas fuel system, Gimpel says.

Additionally, the natural gas-fueled collection trucks are designed with a side-loading system and improved compaction equipment to empty larger, wheeled recycling carts as part of a new Spokane-area recycling collection system. Waste Management of Spokane provides recycling collection service to 55,000 households in Spokane Valley, Millwood, Liberty Lake, Deer Park, and portions of unincorporated Spokane County.

Meanwhile, Avista also is using a handful of natural gas-fueled pickup trucks for routes in other Avista regions. Those trucks and the ones used in Spokane were converted to take the alternative fuel, says Wuerst, and each also has a 20-gallon gasoline tank as a backup for fuel.

Wuerst says Avista first developed the natural gas fueling station at its Mission Avenue campus in the 1980s, and is rebuilding it to replace aging equipment. The renovation project at Avista's campus is expected to be completed this fall.

"The biggest share of the cost is the equipment needed for the compression of the natural gas," Wuerst says. "It needs to be compressed to the point it can be stored and used in a vehicle. That's why you need a big fleet to make it cost-effective."

Avista also plans next year to rebuild aging natural gas fueling stations it has in Klamath Falls, Ore., and Coeur d'Alene to replace equipment, she says.

While Avista first built a station at its Mission Avenue campus for the fuel about 30 years ago, "then it wasn't an economic or efficient way to go," she says. "The technology in the trucks has improved tremendously since then. To convert a truck now takes about $10,000 for an existing truck. That's for a truck that typically runs 30,000 to 40,000 miles a year."

"CNG is more economical for fleet vehicles when you use them for a lot of mileage," she says.

Wuerst says the separate natural gas station on Dollar Road also will enable Avista to offer an emergency fueling backup to Waste Management.

"We are working with Waste Management to coordinate with them as an emergency backup or mutual aid agreement for CNG fueling, if something isn't working with their facility," she says.