Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a North American provider of natural gas fuel for transportation, including compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewable natural gas (RNG), has signed a fueling agreement with express shipping company Mountain Valley Express for nine heavy-duty trucks equipped with the new CWI 9L ISL G Near-Zero NOx natural gas engine.
According to Clean Energy Fuels, the fueling agreement will allow Mountain Valley to use Clean Energy’s Redeem brand of RNG vehicle fuel for the new trucks.
The new engines reduce smog-forming NOx emissions by 90% over the current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard, and when combined with Redeem, they have 70% fewer greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions than diesel trucks.
“At Mountain Valley Express, our motto is ‘Go Green,’ and I can think of no better way to demonstrate our commitment to the environment and reducing our footprint than by having these trucks use Redeem,” says James Scott Blevins, president and CEO of Mountain Valley Express.
With an NOx emissions level of .02 g/bhp-hr, the California Air Resources Board has defined this zero-emissions level as equivalent to a 100% battery truck using electricity from a modern combined-cycle natural gas power plant. Beginning in 2018, CWI will begin producing a 12-liter version of the engine.
“Thanks to technology advancements and the use of renewable natural gas, the transportation industry has come a long way in reducing the amount of NOx and GHGs that are emitted,” says Andrew J. Littlefair, president and CEO of Clean Energy. “Mountain Valley Express is showing great leadership by being one of the first trucking companies to convert to the new zero-equivalent engine and Redeem renewable natural gas and is truly living up to their motto of ‘Go Green.'”
In addition to new fuel agreements, Clean Energy has been contracted to construct multiple fueling stations in early 2017, including the following:
Clean Energy was contracted to design and build a CNG fueling station in Grand Junction, Colo., for Mesa County and Grand Valley Transit. The station is expected to fuel up to 30 CNG transit buses and 21 refuse and street sweeping trucks, as well as be open 24/7 for the public. The station is anticipated to dispense approximately 530,000 gasoline gallon equivalents (GGEs) per year and is scheduled to open mid-summer.
Clean Energy has been awarded a design and build contract by Schwarz Ready Mix for a station located in Edmond, Okla. The site, expected to dispense an estimated 300,000 GGEs per year, is the second station Clean Energy has built for Schwarz. The first station is located in Oklahoma City and was completed in 2015.
In addition to these construction projects, Clean Energy announced the following agreements in the trucking, transit and refuse sectors:
SuperValu, a grocery company with over 3,420 stores throughout the U.S., has signed a fueling agreement with Clean Energy to use its network of stations in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and New York. The grocer, which operates a fleet of CNG trucks throughout its network, is expected to use up to 100,000 GGEs of natural gas per year.
Castan Inc., a drayage truck operator based out of Edgewood, Wash., operating in the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, has signed a fueling contract with Clean Energy to fuel out of its Fife, Wash., station. The station consists of two LNG fast-fill pumps and is open to the public 24/7. Castan Inc. is expecting to be operating with 100% LNG trucks by the end of this year.
Clean Energy and Shipley Energy announced the opening of the first natural gas fueling station in York County, Pa. The station, located at the Pacific Pride fueling station at 714 Loucks Mill Rd., is open 24/7 and available to the public. The station was designed and built by Clean Energy and will utilize quick-fill CNG dispensers to service fleets, including Shipley Energy and Bimbo Bakeries, who combined are expected to use an estimated 210,000 GGEs per year.
For transit, the University of California Los Angeles has awarded Clean Energy a fueling contract to provide Redeem RNG for its on-campus Bruin Bus fleet. The transit fleet will fuel at its private fleet fueling station and use an estimated 80,000 GGEs per year.
Vectren Energy, a natural gas utility in southwestern Indiana, has signed a three-year operations and maintenance agreement with Clean Energy for its public-access station in Evansville, Ind. The CNG station dispenses approximately 60,000 GGEs per year.
The Tucson International Airport has awarded Clean Energy a five-year lease extension for its natural gas fueling station. In addition to airport service vehicles, the station provides fuel to vehicles from Waste Management and the City of Tucson, Ariz.
Phoenix Super Shuttle has extended its contract with Clean Energy to fuel 20 transit vans for operations at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The vans will use approximately 200,000 GGEs per year and fuel at Clean Energy’s public station.
In refuse, Clean Energy has a three-year operations and maintenance contract with Recology, one of the largest private refuse fleets in the country, for its two CNG stations located in Brisbane and Gilroy, Calif. The two stations, built by Clean Energy, are estimated to dispense approximately 300,000 GGEs per year to start and will support over 50 natural gas refuse trucks.
EJ Harrison, one of the oldest and largest privately owned trash collection businesses in the U.S., signed a 10-year operations and maintenance agreement with Clean Energy, as well as a fueling agreement for Clean Energy’s Redeem RNG fuel. EJ Harrison operates out of Ventura, Calif., and is expected to use approximately 125,000 GGEs in the first year of operations.
The City of Bakersfield, Calif., has awarded Clean Energy a fuel supply deal to serve its two refueling locations with LNG. The city is anticipated to use approximately 760,000 GGEs per year. Clean Energy currently provides operations and maintenance services for both of the stations.
Clean Energy has signed an LNG fueling contract with Burrtec Waste Industries, one of the largest private solid-waste companies in California. Clean Energy will transport approximately 190,000 GGEs of LNG to Burrtec’s facility in Palm Desert, Calif., each year.
In addition to these agreements, Clean Energy announced that it has recently secured $3.5 million in grant funds for 22 of its customers in California. The grants, provided by the California Energy Commission, are part of the Natural Gas Vehicle Incentive Program and will assist with the purchase of 186 natural gas vehicles (NGVs) this year.
In 2016, Clean Energy secured a total of $40.5 million in grants for its customers, including funds for CNG station construction projects and the purchase of over 700 NGVs for customers in 12 states and Canada.
