Gasoline-powered plug-in hybrids are so yesterday’s news and hydrogen plug-in hybrids are most probably the future. But, in the here and now, Odyne Corporation has unveiled the first compressed natural gas (CNG) plug-in hybrid refuse vehicle in the world.
The city of Fresno, California held a press conference yesterday announcing that the new Odyne CNG PHEV would reduce smog-forming emissions by as much as 90-percent. The refuse vehicle is part of Fresno’s energy conservation program.
The Odyne CNG PHEV is cleanly poetic in several ways. First, it uses comparatively clean compressed natural gas technology combined with plug-in hybrid capabilities that will minimize fuel usage. Add to this that the vehicle itself is used to clean up the community and this makes it a clean mean disposal machine.
In February, I had talked about the Adams Electric PHEV utility truck, also developed by Odyne, which was equally poetic in its greenness since it was used to repair electrical lines. But, the Odyne CNG PHEV one ups this in clean power as its first 10 miles are operated on battery power alone. Combine this with recharging during off-peak hours and Fresno will have a very fuel efficient PHEV indeed.
Also, according to the California Energy Commission (see map) the Fresno CNG PHEV has a choice of over 200 fueling stations at its disposal. That’s a larger infrastructure than hydrogen cars currently have in the entire United States. So, take that future cars, CNG PHEV’s are so right now.