The City of Lafayette, La., is building a new compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station. The station is inside the Lafayette Consolidated Government’s (LCG’s) public works department complex and will be used to fuel City-owned fleet vehicles and provide fueling to area businesses and individuals.

The fueling station costs $2.1 million to build and was partially funded with a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) grant for $833,000. The DNR also funded LCG’s conversion of a select number of its fleet vehicles to CNG with a grant amount of $737,000. Lafayette’s Transit System currently operates seven new CNG-fueled buses and plans to convert the entire fleet to CNG within the next 10 years, according to the LCG. 

“Lafayette is a leader in the oil and gas industry, and we need to continue to provide leadership in the use of CNG for our vehicles because it is better for our environment and provides significant savings for our transportation costs for fuel,” said Lafayette’s City-President Joey Durel.

The price at LCG’s CNG pump today is $1.46 compared to gasoline cost of $3.26 per gallon or more at service stations in the Lafayette area, according to LCG.

The Louisiana State legislature also provided $1 million for Lafayette’s initiative to become the CNG hub of the Acadiana area through a mix of converting vehicles to CNG, public outreach to citizens, private fleet operators, and regional government fleets, according to the LCG.