NGVAmerica News Week in Review: March 29, 2016

• Landi Renzo Earns EPA Certificate for Natural Gas Ford Trucks
• NGVAmerica to Lead Capitol Hill Lobbying Days
• Indiana Transit Authority to Host CNG Station Grand Opening
• CNGVA Applauds Canada’s Support for NGV Deployment with New Funding
• New Partnership Expands GAIN Clean Fuel Network in Alabama
• Waste Pro Awards Clean Energy Contract for Florida CNG Stations
• Energy Commission Invests in Higher Efficiency Natural Gas Projects
• Wärtsilä to Deliver Nordic Countries’ Largest Biogas Plant to Provide Fuel for Buses

 

Landi Renzo Earns EPA Certificate for Natural Gas Ford Trucks

March 21, 2016

Landi Renzo USA, a Ford Qualified Vehicle Modifier (QVM), has earned natural gas EPA certification for the 2016 model year (MY) Ford 6.8L V-10 Heavy Duty engine used in F-series trucks, including the F-650 and F-750, and F-53 and F-59 stripped chassis.

Landi Renzo has maintained both EPA & CARB certifications on the Ford 6.8L 3-valve V10 engine since 2012 MY. The most recent 2016 MY EPA certification makes it the industry’s first dedicated CNG application for the engine test group GFMXE06.8BW6 under Ford’s gaseous fuel QVM program.

With this significant achievement in hand, Landi Renzo anticipates a similar announcement in the coming weeks as it relates to successful pursuit of the highly coveted CARB certification for the same engine family.

Landi Renzo’s 6.8L V-10 Heavy Duty CNG system has been developed by some of the world’s leading alternative fuel engineers and is available exclusively through Landi Renzo USA’s ship-thru partnership’s and certified installation network.

 

NGVAmerica to Lead Capitol Hill Lobbying Days

March 28, 2016

NGVAmerica has organized its annual Capitol Hill Lobbying Days on Monday and Tuesday, May 23 – 24, 2016. Educating elected officials about the environmental and economic benefits of NGVs is an important component of NGVAmerica’s Federal Government Advocacy program.  All NGVAmerica members are invited and encouraged to attend and participate.

This year’s event has been coordinated with the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas.  Both of organizations will meet with Members of Congress and key staff to advance the goal of using more natural gas in transportation.

Activities will start on the evening of Monday, May 23 with a joint reception. On Tuesday, May 24, both groups will meet at 8:00 a.m. for a continental breakfast and brief orientation at NGVAmerica’s headquarters. Each delegation will then disperse and go to their meetings on Capitol Hill with relevant Members and Staff (9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.).

Immediately following the Hill visits, NGVAmerica and the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas have secured a LIMITED number of tickets to watch the Washington Nationals take on the New York Mets.  We will reconvene at the ballpark after 5:30 p.m.

Please contact Paul Kerkhoven at pkerkhoven@www.ngvamerica.org with questions and to RSVP with your attendance.  Modest sponsorship opportunities also exist.

 

Indiana Transit Authority to Host CNG Station Grand Opening

March 24, 2016

Transpo hosted a grand opening of the CNG Fueling Center located at the Emil “Lucky” Reznik Administration, Maintenance and Operations Facility in South Bend, Indiana. Construction of the state-of-the-art fueling center, in partnership with the City of South Bend, was completed in early 2016.

Transpo contributed 75 percent of the funds for the facility through several grants, including $1.9 million from the US Department of Energy, $2 million from the Federal Transit Administration (in partnership with MACOG), and $500,000 from the State of Indiana DieselWise Program.

The City of South Bend provided the required match for the DOE grant in the amount of $972,000, and

Transpo has provided over $4.4 million in infrastructure investment for the region with the first fast-fill fueling center in the region. The facility will be open to the public providing access by individual vehicles and private fleets operating NGVs. The City of South Bend has an aggressive plan to convert the city’s fleet to CNG within five years.

Transpo has conducted CNG training with the South Bend Fire Department. The purpose of the training is to familiarize first responders with the upgrades to Transpo’s facility and the new CNG buses in service.

“This is a great opportunity for us to collaborate with area first responders and share Transpo’s commitment to safety and innovative technology”, said David Cangany, Transpo General Manager and CEO.

 

CNGVA Applauds Canada’s Support for NGV Deployment with New Funding

March 24, 2016

The Canadian Natural Gas Vehicle Alliance (CNGVA) applauds the Canadian 2016 federal budget, announced March 22, which outlines an ambitious agenda aimed at transforming Canada’s economy. Focused on delivering key commitments from the fall election, CNGVA is pleased to see there are a number of opportunities for Canada’s natural gas vehicle sector.

“Canada’s medium and heavy duty vehicle sector will continue to move toward low cost transportation and emissions reductions with the government’s $62.5 million pledge to fund electric and alternative fuel infrastructure along with various other infrastructure commitments in Budget 2016,” said CNGVA Executive Director, Bruce Winchester.

Budget 2016 proposes to provide $56.9 million over two years, starting in 2016-17, to Transport Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada to support the transition to a cleaner transportation sector, including through the development of regulations and standards for clean transportation technology. Funding will also support Canada’s continued participation in the development of international emissions standards for emissions from the international aviation, marine and rail sectors, including through the International Maritime Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization.

The budget provides other funding opportunities for the advancement of natural gas vehicles, included in spending areas such as infrastructure projects, municipal spending, and innovation.

 

New Partnership Expands GAIN Clean Fuel Network in Alabama

March 22, 2016

A new GAIN Clean Fuel CNG station is now open for carriers in Dothan, Alabama. U.S. Gain, a division of U.S. Venture, partnered with Corridor Clean Fuels (CCF) to co-brand the existing CCF station located along Highway 431.

“Industry partners are playing a vital role in facilitating the growth of the CNG market in America,” said Randy Spence, CEO of Corridor Clean Fuels. “We are excited to partner with U.S. Gain at this station and expand the extensive network of GAIN Clean Fuel stations.”

Dothan serves as the main transportation hub for the southeastern corner of Alabama and is a main corridor for carriers in southwest Georgia and Florida. The location of this station provides convenient access for local, regional and long-haul carriers.

In addition to providing convenient access, the new location has fast-fill capabilities and will accept fleet cards. The station is open for use by other fleets and to the general public and is the second GAIN Clean Fuel station in Alabama. The first is located in Calera.

 

Waste Pro Awards Clean Energy Contract for Florida CNG Stations

March 21, 2016

Waste Pro USA announced the award of a construction agreement to Clean Energy to design and build CNG stations at their Sanford and Sarasota, Florida properties. The Sanford CNG Station will accommodate 90 CNG-powered service vehicles and the Sarasota station will be capable of fueling 30 CNG vehicles.

Waste Pro is also working with Clean Energy to expand its current CNG Station in Pompano, Florida, from a capacity 30 vehicles to 50 vehicles.

The investment continues to further Waste Pro’s goal set in 2012 to transition the majority of the fleet of collection trucks from diesel fuel to cleaner burning CNG.  These two new CNG stations will increase the total number of CNG stations located throughout Waste Pro’s southeastern footprint to a total of seven.

“This move will dramatically reduce emissions in our operating footprint and potentially provide fueling stations for the cities and counties we serve,” said John J. Jennings, President and CEO of Waste Pro USA.

Clean Energy currently operates and maintains a majority of Waste Pro’s CNG stations and will be expanding their contract to cover all Waste Pro stations beginning in 2016.

Serving more than two million residential and commercial customers from over 75 operating locations, Waste Pro is headquartered in Longwood, Florida, and maintains more than 230 exclusive municipal contracts and franchises.

 

Energy Commission Invests in Higher Efficiency Natural Gas Projects

March 21, 2016

Earlier this month, the California Energy Commission approved $4.3 million in grants for projects to increase the efficiency of natural gas technology across a variety of applications. Included in the grants are projects to advance natural gas engine technology and the design and construction of an anaerobic digestion system to produce natural gas transportation fuel.

The Gas Technology Institute also received a $1 million grant to develop and demonstrate an advanced natural gas engine to be installed in 18 vehicles such as delivery trucks and school buses. The engine will help improve air quality in Southern California.

The City of Petaluma received a $3 million grant to design and operate an anaerobic digestion system to produce 150,000 GGEs of renewable natural gas (RNG) from food and beverage waste and use the gas to fuel refuse trucks. The goal is to recycle waste and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Wärtsilä to Deliver Nordic Countries’ Largest Biogas Plant to Provide Fuel for Buses
March 22, 2016

Wärtsilä has been awarded the order to supply a biogas liquefaction plant that will produce LNG fuel for public transport vehicles, mainly in Norway. The supply contract was signed in December 2015, and is with Purac Puregas AB, based in Kalmar, Sweden.

The Wärtsilä plant will be installed at the paper mill in Skogn, Norway and will convert the cleaned biogas from fishery waste and residual paper mill slurry into LNG. The system has been specially designed to liquefy small methane-based gas streams. The environmental benefits of delivering renewable liquid biogas fuel are enhanced by the fact that sulphur oxide (SO_x) and particle emissions are virtually eliminated, while any released CO₂ has zero environmental impact since it is part of the existing circulatory CO_2.

“The plant at Skogn will be privately operated and, with a capacity of 25 tons of liquid biogas per day, will be the biggest in the Nordic countries,” says Øystein Ihler, Development Director of Climate and Energy Programme for the City of Oslo.

Wärtsilä is delivering the system on a fast-track basis and the on-site installation is scheduled to be completed within a 15 month time-frame.