The City of Beverly Hills, Calif., has opened its new compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling station, located at the city fleet's service facility on Third St. Mansfield Gas Equipment Systems – a subsidiary of Mansfield Oil Co. – built the station, which was first announced in the fall of 2011.
‘With the price of diesel climbing, and no end in sight, it was necessary that we do something to control these costs,’ said Mayor Dr. William W. Brien. ‘In addition, we are proud to do our part to keep the air in the Los Angeles basin clean and livable for Beverly Hills residents and the surrounding communities.’
The city has put 12 natural gas vehicles (NGVs) on the road to date: six refuse trucks, four street sweepers, a Honda Civic CNG sedan, and a truck for cleaning municipal sewage pipes. Beverly Hills received a $550,000 grant from the Southern California Air Quality Management District – $300,000 of which was used to fund the fueling station, with the remainder put toward the NGVs.
The CNG station, which represents a $1.2 million investment, has both time- and fast-fill capabilities. City officials estimate that its existing NGVs will save approximately $250,000 annually in fuel costs, pegging the payback period for the station at four to five years.
Beverly Hills plans on leveraging the new CNG site in order to secure reciprocal fueling arrangements with other public agencies in the area, allowing the city fleet to access to multiple refueling locations.
