Located at 8246 Route 5 in the town of Westfield, HPW Energy Inc. has enjoyed a growing customership since its opening in 2011, with an estimated two-thirds of its business coming from the traveling public on Route 20, Interstate 90 and Route 5 and with one-third being locally-owned vehicles. HPW Energy Inc. was the first CNG filling station in Chautauqua County. Submitted Photos

WESTFIELD — Filling your vehicle with anything other than gasoline or diesel fuel may seem a bit odd.

But the benefits of compressed natural gas or CNG, both to the environment and to the consumer, are quickly changing perceptions.

On Wednesday, Jim Herbert, one of three co-owners of HPW Energy Inc., the first CNG filling station in Chautauqua County, spoke to The Post-Journal about his business and its future.

Located at 8246 Route 5 in the town of Westfield, HPW Energy Inc. has enjoyed a growing customership since its opening in 2011, with an estimated two-thirds of its business coming from the traveling public on Route 20, Interstate 90 and Route 5 and with one-third being locally-owned vehicles.

According to Herbert, the cost of CNG at the station is just $1.99 gge or gasoline gallon equivalent — a big cost-savings for drivers who spend long hours on the road.

”Gasoline prices always go up and down …  but our (CNG cost) has never changed,” Herbert said. ”So anyone that’s using transportation in their business, like delivery vehicles, can count on a steady cost here.”

According to CNGnow.com, an educational website dedicated to informing the public about compressed natural gas, CNG is a readily available alternative to gasoline that’s made by compressing natural gas to less than 1 percent of its volume at standard atmospheric pressure.

Consisting mostly of methane, CNG is odorless, colorless and tasteless. It’s drawn from domestically drilled natural gas wells or in conjunction with crude oil production.

Herbert said he’s been quick to dispel myths about CNG, including its safety and overall availability nationwide.

”Natural gas is by far safer than any other fuel that we have,” he said. ”Natural gas is lighter than air … so if you get a leak, it just blows away. Propane (however) is heavier than air. If you get a leak in the garage, that propane will go down in the floor drain and lay on the floor … you flip the light switch on, it could blow the place apart. Gasoline is also highly flammable.”

Herbert added that natural gas is very clean and easy on an engine.

”Your oil doesn’t get dirty because there are no hydrocarbons like there are in gasoline,” he said. ”So your oil changes are stretched out. I change every 15,000 miles instead of 7,000 miles. The environmental impact is also a big plus. Greenhouse gas (emissions) from a natural gas vehicle are less than a diesel or a gasoline engine.”

As far as availability, Herbert said there are CNG stations across the country, and drivers can access CNGnow.com to find them and map their routes accordingly to various destinations.

Most of these stations, he said, are unattended and open 24/7.

”By state law, a gasoline or diesel fuel station has to have an attendant … where as natural gas stations can be unattended,” he said. ”You just slide your credit card through the card reader, hook up (the pump) to your vehicle and everything is automatic … it fills up the vehicle all by itself. When it’s done, the system shuts off and gives you a receipt. So because of that, (businesses) can sell (their) gas at a cheaper price and still make a profit.”

The only downside to CNG, according to Herbert, is that it remains a relatively “small niche market,” and as a result, it remains expensive — particularly for non-commercial drivers — to purchase a vehicle or a tank that’s compatible with CNG. He added, however, that prices are coming down due to increased competition in the market.

“When gas prices are low, there’s also not much interest in building (CNG) infrastructure … and the business gets suppressed,” he said.

Chautauqua County has two other CNG stations: Clean and Green CNG Technology Corp., located at 3004 N. Main St. in Jamestown; and Cotton Well Drilling CNG, located at 11363 Center Road in Sheridan.

Herbert said he is confident that CNG will continue to grow, both in Chautauqua County and across the country, as people realize its perks.

”About 75 percent (of our customers) come off the thruway,” he said. ”(HPW Energy Inc.) is a quarter mile from the Westfield exit on the thruway … so a (commercial) truck can get off, fill at the station and be off in a matter of minutes.”