Public-Private Partnership in Florida Yields Environmental Benefits, Significant Savings

An innovative public-private partnership between Nopetro, a Florida company, and a Florida school district has saved the district more than $1.1 million and has reduced vehicle emissions by 90 percent by converting nearly half the school bus fleet to CNG.

Nopetro serves as the Leon County school district’s exclusive provider of CNG and operates a CNG fueling station that now serves a growing number of city, county, university, and private fleet vehicles.

Over the course of the five-year partnership, the school district has saved more than $1.1 million through rebates and other programs, funds that the district can use to enhance educational programs for local students.

The partnership between Leon County Schools and Nopetro was the first of its kind in Florida when it launched in 2012, and has proven beneficial for the school district and other local governments. The use of CNG is both less costly and more environmentally friendly than diesel engines, averaging about 30 percent less cost and generating 90 percent fewer emissions of nitrogen oxides.

The Tallahassee fueling station was the first of a statewide network established by Nopetro, which now partners with school districts and other governmental entities to provide CNG for fleets in Central and Northeast Florida, including the Lynx transit system in the Orlando area. Nopetro is working to expand its reach throughout Florida and into other states, providing energy alternatives across the transportation sector.

In celebrating the five-year milestone, Nopetro also launched CNG educational materials for students, including an animated video and infographic.