The city paid nothing for the station, officials said.
"All California cities are required to convert their fleets [from diesel gasoline to CNG]," Curry said. "It's a deal at $1.85. It's 28% less than diesel. Fiscally it's the right thing to do."
Businesses that use CNG vehicles — including AT&T, Yellow Cab, airport shuttles and Athens Street Sweeping — can refuel at the Newport station, said Peter Grace, vice president of leasing and finance for Clean Energy.
"The major benefit is for the environment," Grace said. "It is much, much cleaner than diesel fuel, and considerably cleaner than unleaded."
As a part of its transition from diesel to compressed natural gas, the city received a grant from the South Coast Air Quality Management District to replace its old sanitation trucks with new CNG-fueled ones. The cost of replacing the city's diesel vehicles shouldn't stop the fiscal plan from immediately benefiting the city, according to Mark Harmon, the city's general services director.
The money saved from the cheaper cost to fill up the vehicles' gas tanks, and the revenue from each gallon sold will go back into the city's budget.
"It will benefit the parks, police and everything else," Curry said.
Compressed natural gas is the same gas used in homes for heaters and stoves, but is compressed to fuel vehicles. All of the gas comes from the United, which has a 200-year supply, according to Grace.
"We aren't getting it from countries that hate us," he said.
