Converting fleets would save money and cut emissions, proponents say.

MATT HUGHES

WILKES-BARRE – A fleet of phone and Internet repair trucks; an 18-wheel truck owner-operator; a county transportation authority.

These are some of the entities that could save money and reduce emissions by converting their vehicles to natural gas, according to hotel owner Gus Genetti and engineering firm Borton-Lawson.

The pair, in conjunction with the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, will host an educational seminar Friday on the benefits of converting fleet vehicles to run on natural gas at Genetti Hotel and Conference Center.

The invitation-only event will feature presentations by Cynthia Williams of the Ford Motor Co., who will talk about the future of natural gas vehicles, and Plains Township Commissioner Jerry Yozwiak, who will address how his township won a state grant for a natural-gas refueling station and gas-powered garbage truck.

Representatives of Chesapeake Energy, Corning Natural Gas, UGI Utilities and Penn State University also will speak, and the event will conclude with a panel discussion. More than 300 business and local and state officials have been invited, Borton-Lawson spokeswoman Chelsey Coslett said.

Coslett said the conference’s intent is to expose local businesses to the economic benefits of converting trucks and fleet vehicles to run on natural gas and show them what programs are available to help them make the switch.

“The main thing is that they walk away with the knowledge and desire to go back to their places of work and set a deadline, or look into converting their fleet vehicles to use natural gas,” Coslett said.

The conference was the brain child of Genetti, a proponent of natural gas vehicles.

“It seems like there’s no question it would be beneficial to be using domestic fuel rather than having to buy oil from people who don’t like us,” Genetti said.

The lower cost of natural gas can make the price of conversion worthwhile very quickly in high-mileage fleet vehicles, Genetti said.

Natural gas costs the equivalent of about $2 per gallon, compared to more than $3.50 a gallon for gasoline and more than $4 per gallon for diesel.

A commercial truck driver buying a $26,000 liquid natural gas conversion kit will make up the cost of conversion in an average of seven months, Genetti said, adding that there are currently more than 250 natural gas fueling stations operating or under construction in the United States, most along major interstates.

Genetti said he was inspired to host the seminar in Wilkes-Barre after attending a similar gathering in Williamsport, Lycoming County, last year. That municipality recently won $400,000 in grants to build a natural gas fueling station and run public buses on natural gas. He thinks Luzerne County is ready for natural gas vehicles as well.

“Last year Williamsport and Lycoming County weren’t ready for it, and within a couple months now they’ll have natural gas vehicles, a natural gas depot,” Genetti said.

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