Sacramento County, Calif., says its liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks will be filling up with renewable liquefied natural gas (RLNG) at a significant discount through a multiyear contract with Applied LNG.
“We are extremely proud that Sacramento County is diversifying its fleet fuel portfolio with 100 percent renewable LNG as part of the broader effort to reduce GHG emissions,” said Phil Serna, county supervisor for District 1 and member of the California Air Resources Board (CARB). “This brings our renewable fuel consumption for our entire fleet to more than 50 percent.”
“We have 60 vehicles that consume more than a million gallons of LNG fuel a year,” said Keith Leech, Sacramento County’s chief of fleet services division. “Converting to renewable LNG will go a long way in reducing our carbon footprint, as well as saving the county money. The county was an early adopter of liquefied natural gas in our refuse trucks, and this contract should save a substantial amount of money for us annually.”
Applied’s RLNG is produced by BP Energy from biomethane extracted from a landfill. Although fossil LNG can reduce vehicle greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by 20% to 25% compared with diesel fuel, RLNG reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by 87% and overall GHG emissions by 90% compared with diesel.
According to CARB, RLNG has the lowest lifecycle carbon footprint of all carbon-based fuels available for transportation.
“Our ability to produce this LNG from renewable sources of natural gas makes it a compelling choice as one of America’s sustainable energy sources. This embodies the Applied LNG mission to provide cleaner, affordable and domestically produced fuel solutions as an alternative to the more conventional petroleum-based products, such as diesel, gasoline or propane,” said Ed McKenna, Applied LNG’s president and CEO.
CARB and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have been encouraging renewable fuels, especially used in transportation. The credits generated from the use of renewable fuels have driven down the fuel costs, making renewable energy sources often a cheaper alternative to fossil and higher carbon-based fuels.
