A new public-private compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station has opened its doors in Indiana County, Pa.
The new facility is the fourth of six new public CNG fueling stations Trillium is designing, building and maintaining for numerous transit authorities in Pennsylvania as part of a public-private partnership (P-3) contract awarded to the company in 2016 from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).
The new station, located at 1640 Saltsburg Ave. in the borough of Indiana, is open 24/7 and features one public CNG dispenser and one private CNG dispenser. It will primarily serve IndiGO’s fleet of CNG buses, but it’s also open to the public, including for light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
“This addition to our growing ranks of transit-based CNG stations means savings for transit operators and a step towards a better environment,” says Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. “CNG-fueled vehicles translate into better efficiency, cleaner-burning fuels and lower fuel costs.”
On Tuesday, Trillium and PennDOT celebrated the opening of the newest station. Indiana County commissioners Michael Baker and Rodney Ruddock attended the station’s ribbon-cutting, alongside members of IndiGO’s board of directors.
“Since entering the agreement with PennDOT, it’s incredible to see how much we’ve accomplished in bringing more CNG stations to transit authorities and drivers in Pennsylvania, and it’s great to see the hard work paying off,” says Bill Cashmareck, director of Trillium. “Together, we’re offering a clean fuel derived from an abundant local resource, and we’re giving consumers another option they didn’t have before. It’s a big win for Pennsylvania.”
Overall, the P-3 project will provide CNG to more than 1,600 buses at transit agencies across Pennsylvania. PennDOT will receive a 15% royalty, excluding taxes, for each gallon of fuel sold to the public at public sites, which will be used to support the cost of the project. The agreement also brings 23 additional private CNG facilities to the commonwealth.
“The Indiana County Transit Authority is thrilled to be part of the P-3 program that will provide our authority and the public with access to a more cost-effective and cleaner burning fuel,” notes John Kanyan, executive director of the transit authority.
Larson Design Group of Williamsport, Pa., is assisting with the construction of the locations. Additional public facilities are scheduled to open at transit authorities across Pennsylvania in Lackawanna and Erie counties in later phases of the project.
