Clean Energy Fuels Corp. has announced that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has awarded Clean Energy a renewable natural gas (RNG) contract to fuel its fleet of transit buses.
As reported, the deal calls for Clean Energy to provide Metro with its Redeem brand of RNG, the first renewable and commercially available vehicle fuel made entirely from 100% organic waste.
The fueling contract begins with a one-year pilot in which Clean Energy will provide Redeem to one of Metro’s 11 compressed natural gas stations, which are currently operated and maintained by Clean Energy. Each station provides fuel for approximately 200 CNG buses.
According to Clean Energy, execution of an additional option will allow the company to provide Redeem to the entire fleet of 2,200 natural gas buses for four more years for an anticipated 38 million gasoline gallon equivalents each year.
Over the five-year period, the transition to RNG will reduce Metro’s greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by over 520,000 metric tons over the use of regular natural gas and by almost 900,000 metric tons over the use of diesel.
Unrelated to the use of Redeem, Metro will begin retrofitting and replacing its buses with the new Cummins-Westport Low NOx CNG engines that reduce smog-forming NOx and GHG emissions that are 90% lower than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency NOx limit.
“As one of the largest transit agencies in the nation, we take our responsibility to the environment and the taxpayers very seriously,” says Cris B. Liban, Metro executive officer for environment and sustainability. “The use of RNG allows us to further exceed our environmental goals and reduce our reliance on the use of extracted fossil fuels while ensuring the seamless transition to a cleaner, greener fleet.”
John Drayton, Metro director of vehicle technology, says, “We are continuously assessing new technologies in transportation and perform a rigorous analysis before adopting anything. In this case, transitioning to renewable natural gas, along with the use of low NOx engines, reduces our fleet’s NOx emissions by 90 percent, so it was an easy decision.”
Tyler Henn, vice president and general manager of Clean Energy Renewables, adds, “Metro is putting the needs of its customers and the people of Los Angeles County at the forefront in its decision to switch to Redeem and the latest clean engine technology. They have chosen an alternative that will make significant strides in cleaning up the air and reducing harmful air toxins and greenhouse gases at an affordable price.”
