Gas Natural Fenosa opened a natural-gas vehicle refuelling station in Alovera (Guadalajara), Spain. The Alovera service station can supply both compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). This facility, located on the A-2, is part of the energy multinational’s strategy for creating a natural-gas refuelling network along Spain’s main highways.

This new facility joins the 16 other service stations supplying liquefied natural gas in Spain. This makes Spain the third country in the world in terms of the number of natural gas refuelling stations. The Alovera service station, which has a 60 cubic metre tank, can supply both LNG and CNG via a double dispenser. The station has an annual refuelling capacity of 12,000 LNG-powered lorries and 42,000 CNG-powered light vehicles. This service station, with a prime location on the A-2 highway, can supply long-distance transport fleets.

Part of the European GARneT project

The Alovera service station is one of seven built in Spain as part of the European “Gas as an Alternative for Road Transport” (GARneT) project led by Gas Natural Fenosa. The stations, installed along the main transport corridors, supply liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas to vehicles that use these fuels. Gas Natural Fenosa has 35 service stations in Spain, including both public and private stations, with a capacity to supply approximately 1,000 GWh/year. These stations serve the majority of the 4,000 gas-driven vehicles in Spain, mostly buses, waste-collection trucks, taxis and company fleets.

A viable short-term alternative as a fuel for transport

The use of natural gas as a fuel for transport contributes to improved air quality, as it reduces the nitrogen oxide emissions and suspended particles (the main pollutants affecting human health) by more than 85%, and CO2 emissions (the main cause of the greenhouse gas effect) by up to 20%. Natural gas also reduces noise pollution, because a natural gas engine produces 50% less noise than a conventional engine.

Natural gas is a very competitive fuel from an economic point of view when compared with diesel and petrol, given that it can achieve savings of up to 30% with respect to the former and 50% with respect to the latter. A total of 21 provinces now have public natural gas supply stations including Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Valencia.