Fleet managers aim at new 'heat' source

The heat they're packing is in the form of transportation fuel made from domestic natural gas rather than imported crude oil. The rapidly growing movement to convert vehicle fleets from gasoline to gas is tracked in the third edition of “The Road to Natural Gas” by Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

Clean Energy promotes and monitors gas-fueled transportation as well as the current cost savings and reductions in air emissions. Interest in compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles remains light among private motorists but not among the people who operate corporate and government fleets. They don't just fill a tank. They fill up from tanker trucks, as it were.

Gov. Mary Fallin has positioned the state to march in the gas-powered parade, joining other governors in encouraging publicly owned fleets to run on CNG or other natural gas products. With gasoline prices on the rise, the savings are getting more noticeable — as much as $1.50 a gallon or more.