As a part of an ongoing program spearheaded by the provincial government, British Columbia-based utility FortisBC has awarded $9.5 million in incentives to more than a dozen heavy-duty fleets that are deploying natural gas vehicles (NGVs).
This latest round of funding will help the fleets defray the cost of acquiring a total of more than 200 trucks that run on either compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG). Eighteen separate companies have been selected for awards, including Arrow Transport, Sutco Contracting Ltd., BC Transit, Ledcor LNG Group Ltd. and Denwill Enterprises Inc.
All of the funding stems from the government of British Columbia's greenhouse-gas reduction targets, which led FortisBC, in 2012, to announce a $104.5 million program aimed at offsetting up to 75% of the cost of natural gas engines vs. diesels.
‘The number of fleet operators applying for this incentive shows that natural gas is becoming the fuel of choice for heavy-duty and return-to-base fleet vehicle operators,’ says John Walker, president and CEO of FortisBC.
For its part, the utility is currently working on a $400 million expansion of its Tilbury LNG plant in Delta, B.C., which will add approximately 1 million gigajoules of LNG storage, as well as 30,000 to 60,000 gigajoules of liquefaction capacity per day, to FortisBC's LNG portfolio.
Heavy-duty fleet operators in the province can learn more about this funding source by sending an email to ngt@fortisbc.com or clicking here.
