Kirk Energy has announced that its Managing Member, Christian H. Pedersen, has been named to serve on the Foundation Board of The Humane Society & SPCA of Hancock County.  Based in Findlay, Ohio The Humane Society & SPCA of Hancock County houses approximately 3,000 lost, abused, or unwanted animals each year.  The organization also offers a low cost spay/neuter clinic to the public as funds permit.

As a member of the Board of Directors, Pedersen will be responsible for reviewing the finances of the organization and establishing staff policies.  “I have two dogs which came from the Humane Society and which have brought immeasurable joy to my family,” said Pedersen.  “I consider it an honor to serve and support an organization that provides a caring hand to our local animals in need.”

Kirk Energy has announced that its Managing Member, Christian H. Pedersen, has been named to serve on Board of the Directors of the recently revamped Findlay∙Hancock County Alliance as well as the Advisory Board for the Alliance’s Economic Development division.  The Alliance, which was previously known as Greater Findlay, Inc., acts as parent company to the Chamber of Commerce, Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Economic Development.  The Alliance Board consists of fourteen voting members and the Economic Development Advisory Board has thirteen voting members.  Pedersen’s initial term on both boards will be for the 2011 calendar year.

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

Article on the Dayton Daily News

Kirk Energy’s CNG Transit Connect van was also on display along with numerous other alternative fueled vehicles ranging from light to heavy duty. “While we are not a first responder business, we prioritize involvement in events such as these as part of our overall commitment to safety within the industry,” said Pedersen. Presenters at the event included industry experts from across the U.S. and Canada. “I was really impressed by the level of interest on the part of our emergency personnel. They understand that these vehicles are here and want to learn everything they can to better serve the public,” added Pedersen.
According to NGVAmerica, a leading trade group, there are over 11 million NGVs currently on the road throughout the world.

By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer Updated 9:11 PM Sunday, July 18, 2010

A Findlay family business intends to build a compressed natural gas fueling station in Dayton and three other Ohio cities, using $2.7 million in federal stimulus funds.

Christian Pedersen, co-manager of Kirk Energy Group LLC, based in Findlay, said Thursday July 15 his business has a letter of intent to build a compressed natural gas (CNG) station in Dayton. He said a developer is working with local government and a property owner on the station.

Pedersen said a non-disclosure agreement prevents him from identifying the developer or the proposed location, but he said he hopes to break ground for the station in early 2011.

“As far as I know, this is within (Dayton) city limits,” Pedersen said.

Bryan Taulbee, a Dayton government spokesman, said the city knows of no plans to build such a station in Dayton.

Other Ohio cities where Kirk intends to build include Findlay, Bowling Green and Toledo.

Kirk’s U.S. Department of Energy deadline requires it to complete the fueling stations by the end of 2011. The company’s pitch is aimed at fleet vehicles, but the station he envisions would be open to private citizens who own CNG-fueled vehicles.

The station Kirk is planning in Dayton 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 acknowledged that some “slow-fill” systems can take hours for fueling, but that will not be the case with Kirk’s planned station, he said.

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

Worldwide, there are about 10 million CNG-fueled vehicles, according to Kirk. Honda offers an OEM Civic GX which relies on natural gas, but there are also plenty of conversion options for existing vehicles, Pedersen said.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/local-natural-gas-fueling-station-planned-by-findlay-company-812697.html?cxtype=rss_business

Kirk Energy Group LLC has received more than $2.7 million in federal stimulus grants through Clean Fuels Ohio to build four compressed natural gas fueling stations in the state, starting in Findlay and ultimately including Toledo.

“Our [customer] demographic is not Joe and Mary Smith; our demographic is the fleets in the market we operate,” said Christian Pedersen, co-managing member of Kirk Energy, along with his brother-in-law, Andrew Rill, who shares the title.

The two are executives in other family businesses in Findlay: Mr. Pedersen, with H&O Services, a Findlay waste-haul-ing and property management company, and Mr. Rill, with Findlay Machine & Tool Inc. The two firms have a diverse combined fleet of about 250 vehicles – from massive 40-ton trucks down to light-duty vans and pickups.

“We formed Kirk Energy in response to the fuel price spike,” Mr. Rill said. We came together collectively to brainstorm on an answer because, as a family unit, we were spending millions on diesel fuel. We settled on compressed natural gas because it offered up the most strategic advantages as a fuel source for our fleets.”

The state-administered grants – part of an $11 million federally funded program to promote cleaner fuel technologies statewide – will help pay for construction of four compressed natural gas fueling stations and a portion of the cost to convert fleet vehicles to use the fuel. Clean Fuels Ohio expects the investment to leverage another $19 million in private funds.

Beyond the one station in Findlay, the company is exploring locations – from Toledo to Hamilton, Ohio, – for three others.

Part of the decision-making process, however, is making sure there will be commercial customers able to use the fuel once the facilities are built. Kirk is contacting businesses and school districts that operate fixed-route fleets and might be interested in making the needed capital investments to lower their fuel costs.

Compressed natural gas can cost as much as $1 per gallon cheaper than the equivalent amount of gasoline or diesel fuel, Mr. Rill said. When the four stations are online, expected by 2015, they will double the number of existing compressed natural gas filling stations in the state that are open to the public.

Contact Larry P. Vellequette at:

lvellequette@theblade.com
or 419-724-6091.

Posted by Lisa Strawbridge – email
FINDLAY, OH (WTOL) – Kirk Energy Group of Findlay got a $2.7 million federal grant to develop compressed natural gas technology (CNG) in cars, trucks and school buses across Ohio.
Kirk Energy manager Andrew Rill says natural gas vehicles, called NGVs, are about three to five years from becoming mainstream. The only one currently in production is the Honda NGV.
The grant money will be used to build four natural gas fueling stations because Rill says the availability of fueling stations is necessary for people to feel comfortable with the technology. The stations will be built in Findlay, Bowling Green, Toledo and Dayton, which will double the total number of stations in the state.
The Findlay station will be built first with construction beginning this summer and business expected to begin in the fall.

City Uniforms and Linen also to receive grant money
Grant money will also be going to Findlay-based City Uniforms and Linen, another early adopter of natural gas technology.
Grant money will be used to purchase four new trucks that operate on natural gas. The cost of natural gas vehicles is a few thousand dollars more than gasoline powered ones, but natural gas is cleaner, more efficient, cheaper and more abundant. Proponents of NGV cars say the difference in cost will pay for itself in two years.
Copyright 2010 WTOL. All rights reserved

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=12045567

STAFF WRITER

Kirk Energy Group, Findlay, on Wednesday was awarded a $2.7 million federal grant to build stations to sell compressed natural gas.

The grant is a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is meant to reduce petroleum use, said Clean Fuels Ohio, a nonprofit group assisting the federal government.

To ensure Kirk has customers, an additional $204,000 to help pay for 21 vehicles was awarded to Friends Business Source, Findlay; Kramer Enterprises, which operates City Dry Cleaning in Findlay; Industrial Fluid Management in Bowling Green; and one other company.

Kirk Energy, which develops alternative fuels, will build four stations and buy three trucks and three cars for $5.7 million. The first station will be built in Findlay within minutes of Interstate 75, said Christian Pedersen, a managing member of Kirk Energy Group. It could be completed by December, he said.

Bowling Green, Dayton, Hamilton and Toledo are being considered as locations for the other three stations, Pedersen said.

The company also will use some of the grant to buy several vehicles that use compressed natural gas.

Initially the market for compressed natural gas would be government agencies and businesses with fleets of vehicles: school districts, waste-hauling companies and others with regular travel or delivery routes.

To ensure Kirk Energy has customers, the federal government has preliminarily approved grants to four companies to buy vehicles using compressed natural gas.

Light-duty natural gas vehicles can cost $3,000 to $6,000 more than conventional vehicles, while heavy-duty vehicles can cost $30,000 to $50,000 more than their conventional counterparts, the U.S. Energy Department reported.

But Kirk officials said compressed natural gas costs one-third to one-half less than conventional fuels. It also is a cleaner fuel, and can be obtained in North America, they said.

On the Net: www.kirkenergy.com/ www.cleanfuelsohio.org/ (Wilin: 419-427-8413