The City of Covington has joined a growing list of municipalities in the USA that are transitioning their fleets to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) while also building the necessary fueling infrastructure for use by private companies.  In an effort to act as a torchbearer for many other Georgia municipalities, the City has approved the construction of a $1.6 million public access CNG fueling facility; it will be the first public access CNG facility in the State of Georgia that is owned by a city.
The station, to be constructed by Georgia-based American Fueling Systems (AFS), will be open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and will be able to fuel 4 vehicles simultaneously at a rate of 9-11 gallons per minute.  Located to offer easy access to Interstate 20, it is expected to incentivize more private fleets to transition to CNG, as well.  This facility will be designed to offer multiple alternative fuels including CNG upon opening, with the possibility of propane (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the future.

“We are extremely proud to be partners with a forward-thinking municipality such as the City of Covington.  The City conducted exhaustive due diligence, and it clearly understands that expanding the use of clean, affordable natural gas is good for the city as well as the surrounding communities,” said Rahim Charania, Chief Executive Officer of AFS.

Covington Mayor Ronnie Johnston had this to say: “The CNG station is a great example of the leadership and vision that is found within our city.  Covington…will likely be used as a model for similar facilities throughout the state.  We believe the station will also have a very positive impact on our economic development goals.”

AFS will break ground in the Fall with the intent of opening the facility in early 2014.  In the past several years, Georgia has seen its number of public access alternative fueling stations increase exponentially.  With the City of Covington now joining the ranks, the future of CNG and other alternative fuels in the Southeast is looking very bright.