Region’s first Compressed Natural Gas Station opens

Staff Reports

FAIoLESS HILLS - Clean Energy Fuels Corp., North America’s largest provider of natural gas fuel for transportation, celebrated the opening of its first public access compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station on Thursday to serve the Greater Philadelphia area with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by government and community leaders.

Built and maintained for public access 24/7 by Clean Energy, the new CNG station will support Bucks County Transport’s fleet of CNG-fueled shared ride shuttle buses, the “rushbus” public transit fleet deployed by TMA Bucks (Transportation Management Association), as well as commercial refuse truck fleets, and other public and private CNG vehicles. The station is located on property leased from Pothole hillers/Patch Management at 451 Tyburn ooad in Fairless Hills.

Speakers at the grand opening celebration, attended by state and local government officials, business and community leaders, included Peter Grace, Senior sice President, Sales and Finance, Clean Energy; since solpe, Executive Director, Bucks County Transport; Lew Tarlini, CEO, Pothole hillers/Patch Management; Cosmo Servidio, oegional Director, Pennsylvania De- partment of Environmental Protection; and Elizabeth Murphy, sice President, Government & External Affairs, PECO Energy.

The event was co-hosted by TMA Bucks and Patch Management. “The partnership with Clean Energy is the first step in this region towards assisting Pennsylvania in achieving energy self-sufficiency,” said TMA Bucks Executive Director Bill oickett, who was the MC for the event. “I am hopeful we can continue to build the compressed natural gas fueling infrastructure that will assist in reaching this goal.”

Clean Energy’s Peter Grace said, “Cleanerburning and cost-efficient natural gas is becoming the transportation fuel of choice for a greater number of fleet and other types of vehicles. Clean Energy is thrilled that we will be part of this expansion in eastern Pennsylvania with our first of what we hope is many more public access CNG fueling stations.”

The cost of the CNG sta- tion infrastructure and the new CNG transit shuttle buses was funded in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Alt Fuel Incentive Grant (AFIG) program. In making the award, the state’s primary objective was to help provide cleanair, cost-efficient public transit services for citizens in the Bucks County region.

Priced up to $1.50 or more per gallon less than diesel fuel (based on current market conditions), the use of natural gas fuel reduces costs significantly for vehicle and fleet owners, and lowers greenhouse gas emissions up to 23-percent in medium to heavyduty vehicles. Additionally, natural gas is a secure North American energy source, with 98-percent of the natural gas consumed produced in the r.S. and Canada.