Sacramento County, Calif., has selected TruStar Energy to build a new compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling station to initially support a fleet of heavy-duty refuse and recycling trucks.
The combined time- and fast-fill station will be designed to time-fill 40 vehicles simultaneously at night and also allow for a fast-fill dispenser that other natural gas vehicles in the county fleet can use.
The county's waste management and recycling department has been using liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks for 10 years. However, officials say that fueling the trucks with LNG has been a challenge.
‘We have two yards that we operate out of, but only one LNG station, which forces us to fuel a large bulk tanker that we affectionately call 'Orca,' which then transports LNG to our second location, where our drivers will then line up to fuel,’ says department superintendent Chris Celsi.
‘One of the big issues is we're then paying our drivers to wait up to 45 minutes for their turn to fuel their vehicle,’ he remarks. ‘With the CNG station, our drivers simply plug their trucks in and walk away.’
TruStar Energy says it is planning to break ground on the new facility before the end of the year, and the station will be operational toward the end of March 2015.
