A Findlay family business hopes to break ground on a compressed natural gas station in the Dayton area early next year.

Kirk Energy Group of Findlay intends to build CNG fueling stations in the Dayton area, Toledo, Findlay and Bowling Green. Christian Pedersen, co-manager of Kirk, said Thursday, July 15, a nondisclosure pact prevents him from identifying the site developer or its proposed location.

Christian Pedersen, co-manager of Kirk Energy Group LLC, said he believes the station might be within city limits, but a Dayton government spokesman said the city knows of no such plans.

The station’s primary customers would be operators of fleet vehicles, such as delivery vans, but it also would be open to anyone who owns CNG-fueled vehicles.

Kirk intends to use $2.7 million in federal stimulus funds, along with investment capital, to build the stations, which would be open to credit-card users 24/7. Though the target customer is the owner of a fleet of vehicles, the station would be open to individual motorists, Pedersen said.

The station Kirk is planning in the Dayton area will have a “cascade fast-fill system” that will take a few minutes to fuel vehicles, much like a conventional gas station, Pedersen said. He said some “slow-fill” systems can take hours to fuel a vehicle.

Proponents say compressed natural gas costs about $1 less per gallon than gasoline. And they say there are plentiful domestic supplies of natural gas, with known reserves having essentially doubled in the past few years, Pedersen said.

Brad Couch, program director for the nonprofit Clean Fuels Ohio, said there are only a few public-access CNG stations in Ohio: one each in Columbus, Newark and Coshocton. The lack of stations has impeded the use of CNG, though it’s plentiful and about $1 per gallon cheaper than gasoline, say proponents.

There are about 110,000 natural gas-powered vehicles in the U.S., according to Natural Gas Vehicles For America, an advocacy group.

Chris Meyer, head of energy programs for the Dayton Development Coalition, said “a local CNG station will support the nation’s green initiative, causing less pollution and at the same time, (allow motorists to) operate vehicles on American fuel.” He said the idea of a local CNG station is “a critical first step away from our dependence on oil.”

The Honda Civic GX is the only original equipment manufacturer-produced CNG-fueled vehicle marketed for families.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.