Dane County, Wis., officials unveiled a new BioCNG filling station located at a county landfill on August 23. The station is an important component of Dane County Executive Joe Parisi's effort to expand the County’s use of compressed natural gas (CNG) over the next 10 years.

The fueling station will more than double the CNG generation of the county’s existing facilities at the landfill. The facilities will generate 250 gasoline gallon equivalents (GGEs) of CNG per day. The new station will also increase fuel storage more than six-fold.

The BioCNG generated at the landfill costs the County the gasoline equivalent of $1.25 per gallon to fill up its fleet. The roughly $500,000 station was funded in part by a State of Wisconsin Office of Energy (SEO) grant totaling $150,000. 

“The last time gas was a little over a buck a gallon was 30 years ago,” Parisi said.

The County’s switch to CNG has offset the use of approximately 25,000 gallons of diesel and gasoline, saving County taxpayers roughly $50,000 annually, according to a County release. These savings continue to grow as more CNG vehicles are added to the fleet.

An additional $28,800 was recently awarded to the County from the SEO to cover half the cost of five new CNG vehicles for the county, bringing the total CNG fleet to 30.

To further increase CNG use in the fleet, the county ordered four snow plows that would run on CNG generated at the County landfill. Dane County would be the first to use this innovative equipment on large snow plows that could hit the roads as soon as this winter, the release stated.

At the direction of the County Executive, staff will also begin work with a planning firm to explore the possibility of completely converting the entire County vehicle fleet within the next 10 years. The strategic plan will look at all aspects of this opportunity, including vehicles, infrastructure, fueling stations, maintenance, training, and costs.