ALEXANDRIA, Va. – On this week’s episode of Convenience Matters, “Fueling Natural Gas Growth,” NACS hosts Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives, and Donovan Woods, director of operations for the Fuels Institute, talk about the rising popularity of natural gas with Daniel Gage, president of NGV America, and Jeff Clarke, general counsel and director of regulatory affairs for NGV America.

Natural gas in either compressed or liquified form has been powering heavy-duty vehicles for many years now, but lately, there has been a surge in interest from companies, states and consumers to more fully utilize this fuel. “When we look at the transportation space, heavy-duty vehicles are the fastest-growing segment in transportation in terms of energy use,” Gage said. “It’s a growing segment. When we think about how we fuel and how do we find cleaner alternatives, natural gas fits that model.”

Consumers are starting to notice more ways in which compressed natural gas is fueling vehicles that have an impact on their everyday lives, such as long-haul mail carriers, refuse trucks, transit busses and medium-duty delivery vehicles. “Natural gas is a lower price fuel, an abundant fuel with a wide production base in the United States,” Clarke said. “Thirty-plus states produce natural gas, and we have an over a 100-year supply. It’s not only economical, but an environmentally friendly fuel.”

The newer trucks on the road today using natural gas run 90% cleaner than diesel trucks. “More and more [companies and states] are trying to meet large sustainability goals through these fleets and trucks,” Gage said.

Companies leading the way with natural gas vehicles include PepsiCo and Frito Lay, and Waste Management, which has 6,000 natural gas-powered truck and more than a 100 natural gas stations. Waste Management also has taken the lead on using renewable natural gas by fueling up their trucks with the trash those trucks pick up.

Each week a new Convenience Matters episode is released. The podcast can be downloaded on iTunes, Google Play and other podcast apps, and at www.conveniencematters.com. Episodes have been downloaded by listeners more than 50,000 times in 80 countries.