Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin hosted the first meeting of a task force looking at the potential of converting state's fleet into natural gas.
The meeting was largely organizational, laying out the committee's mission and approving the governor's suggestions for subcommittees. However, the team can now begin to look at whether promoting natural gas vehicles is an economically sound investment for the state.
"We're studying it to see if it's feasible," he said. "We're not going to do it if it's not."
As pointed out by Frank McCullough, a citizen member of the task force, this is not the first time the state has attempted to encourage development of natural gas fuel stations. McCullough and Tomblin said technology has since improved.
"There's better engines now, there's better fueling stations than they had during the Caperton or Wise years," Tomblin said. "The price of natural gas is a fraction of what it was at the time."
The idea, Tomblin said, is to bring in public sector investment to make natural gas and natural gas derivative fuels more attractive.
"If the public sector takes the initiative to make sure the infrastructure is in place, I think the private sector will soon follow," Tomblin said.
The committee was formed to examine the various details and hurdles that will need to be overcome to make natural gas vehicles a reality.
"It's an experiment, there's no doubt about it, but I think it's worth looking at with the abundance of natural gas that we have sitting under the state of West Virginia," Tomblin said.
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