The City of Atlanta has opened a new compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station at the Solid Waste Lakewood facility to initially serve 20 trash collection vehicles. This station is one of two new CNG facilities now in operation in the city.
The Lakewood refueling station and another station at the Maddox Park Solid Waste Facility will support the Department of Public Works in its goal to transition the city’s entire fleet of solid waste collection vehicles from diesel fuel to CNG fuel.
According to the city, the 20 trash collection vehicles using the stations will serve as many as 96,000 residents per week. After refueling at one of the two CNG stations overnight, the trucks will be able to complete their routes each day without needing to refuel.
Each station includes CNG equipment to time-fill up to 30 collections vehicles at each site overnight, as well as a two-hose, fast-fill dispenser for topping off the collections vehicles and fueling other CNG vehicles.
“By installing and maintaining our own, cleaner-burning CNG fueling stations, the City of Atlanta will see immediate fuel cost savings by as much as 50 percent and a reduction in carbon emissions by 13-21 percent,” says Department of Public Works’ Richard Mendoza.
Construction of the CNG facilities was conducted by Atlanta Gas Light Co. and funded by a $2.5 million share of the Georgia Public Service Commission’s $11.6 million program to develop CNG stations in Georgia.
