The transportation finance arm of GE Capital is now engaged in a strategic alliance with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. that is aimed squarely at boosting the heavy-duty transportation sector's deployment of natural gas vehicles.
The partnership has two main pieces: Trucking fleets will first work with Clean Energy to solidify natural gas fueling contracts, and then team up with GE Capital to access loans and leases to acquire heavy-duty NGVs from OEMs. Moreover, Clean Energy will then ‘help offset the monthly cost of newly acquired NGVs to make it consistent with the cost of a diesel truck, if the customer makes a fuel commitment.’
‘Our goal is to work with fleet operators to achieve a one-year payback on the incremental cost of natural gas heavy-duty trucks – and our alliance with GE Capital is another tool in achieving this important goal,’ says Andrew J. Littlefair, president and CEO of Clean Energy.
‘Together with GE Capital, we're breaking down the barriers to entry that may have prevented some fleet owners from making the transition to natural gas,’ he adds.
Clean Energy owns and operates the vast majority of natural gas refueling locations in the U.S. – more than 400 stations that supply compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) or both. At the same time, OEMs such as Volvo Trucks, Peterbilt and Kenworth are all poised to offer new families of Class 8 NGVs.
