Northwestern, Evanston and Skokie have teamed up in a one-of-a-kind partnership to bring more environmentally friendly vehicles to the area.

The $300,000 project, which officials hope will be completed by December, will bring natural gas vehicles to both communities for municipal use. It also will involve the construction of a natural gas fueling station at 2020 Asbury St., said Catherine Radek, superintendent of administrative services for Evanston. The fueling station, which will be built this summer, will provide natural gas for official vehicles from Evanston, Skokie and NU.

The partnership has received federal funding to build the fueling station from two groups within the natural gas industry. The project is receiving 80 percent of the money from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Control program and 20 percent from the Institute of Gas Technology (IGT).

“We got 100% funding because we are a public and private partnership,” said George Giddens, purchasing services manager for NU, in a press release.

One of the goals for the partnership is to meet and eventually exceed the Clean Fuel Program requirements for Illinois and the United States.

“Realistically we’re trying to comply with the federal Clean Fuel Fleet Program,” said David Syoen, automotive superintendent for the village of Skokie.

The program requires that each community’s vehicle pool have a certain percentage of low-emission vehicles. That percentage for Chicago-area municipalities is currently 30 percent, but this figure is increasing every year, Giddens said.

“As we replace vehicles, we have to (replace them with) low-emission vehicles,” said Syoen.

Each community is responsible for the purchase of its own vehicles, Syoen said. Although the vehicles can cost several thousand dollars more than standard cars, they are cheaper to maintain because they run on cleaner fuel, Syoen said.

“There will be virtually no cost to the community,” said Radek. “We will be able to provide cleaner-burning fuel and reduced emissions.”

Natural gas fuel emits 80 percent less carbon monoxide than normal gasoline, and has a 40 to 90 percent reduction in emission of gases harmful to the ozone, according to a report by IGT.

Another major advantage of natural gas is cost. While standard grade fuel costs about $1.80 per gallon, natural gas costs about 80 cents per gallon, according to the IGT report.

The coalition between NU and the two communities is the first of its kind between public and private groups. Giddens said the partnership is the result of half a year of cooperative work.

NU recently made lower emissions a priority for facilities management, said Giddens. Construction was recently completed on an E-85 fuel pump at 2401 Dempster St. E-85 is an ethanol mixture that can be used in vehicles and is a cleaner fuel.

NU has purchased two vans that will be able to run on E-85. The advantage of the fuel substitute is that cars running on E-85 can also use regular gasoline, allowing the vans to travel a much farther distance with much lower emissions.

The trend toward lower emissions vehicles is expected to continue as national standards become more stringent, said Syoen.

“This is something that’s not going to stop,” he said.