NGVAmerica News Week in Review: August 31, 2015

• Registration Open for 2015 North American NGV Conference & Expo Tours
• Anheuser-Busch to Deploy 97 CNG Tractors in St. Louis
• Clean Energy to Build New CNG Stations and Provide More Natural Gas
• AmeriPride Releases Sustainability Report Highlighting NGV Deployments
• TIMCO Opens Second CNG Station near LAX Airport in California
• APG Secure $3.25 Million in Financing for Flare Capture Recovery Systems
• Allied Specialty Vehicles Supplies CNG School Buses in Pennsylvania
• ANGI Energy Systems Names New Director of International Sales & Business Development
• NASSCO Launch Second Ship in Series of First LNG Containerships

 

Registration Open for 2015 North American NGV Conference & Expo Tours

August 31, 2015

NGVAmerica has made arrangements for two great tours after the conference concludes on Thursday, September 17. Transportation is provided and will depart the Colorado Convention Center at 2:00 p.m.  There is a nominal fee of $20.  Please contact show organizers at ngv@thecwcgroup.com to reserve your space now.

Denver NGV Facility Tour: Central Platte Campus

A tour of the City and County of Denver’s Central Platte Campus – Compressed Natural Gas fueling station and repair facility.  In 2014, the City and County of Denver opened a CNG station with 68 slow-fill and 2 fast-fill fueling posts. Currently, the facility supports the fueling of 40 heavy duty CNG solid waste trucks, and it delivers over 22,000 DGE per month. In addition to the fueling station, Denver operates a 15 bay certified CNG repair facility.

Tour of Denver International Airport

Denver International Airport (DIA) is one of the busiest hubs in the United States, showcasing more than 25 years of NGV industry leadership.

This will be a rewarding first-hand experience discovering some of the airport’s more than 200 NGVs, which accounts for 20 percent of their fleet. These vehicles include buses, shuttles, sedans, light duty trucks and vans, sweepers, and scrubbers. Spurred by the airport’s success, many other companies operating in or around the airport have also switched to natural gas. Today, there are over 1,000 CNG vehicles supporting DIA operations, including the airlines, non-DIA shuttles, rental car companies, and other suppliers.

To satisfy this load, six CNG stations are available on property—five “behind the fence” and one open to the public, which services at least 45 local companies and dispenses over 600,000 GGEs annually. DIA exemplifies the best in organizations that have vigorously promoted the use of natural gas vehicles for environmentally positive impacts, economic benefits, and the use of an abundant domestic transportation fuel.

To learn more about DIA’s NGV program, watch the video here.

 

Clean Energy to Build New CNG Stations and Provide More Natural Gas

August 25, 2015

Clean Energy announced that it will construct new CNG stations for transit agencies, a school district, and others, and Clean Energy also announced additional fueling agreements within the refuse, trucking, and bulk fuel market segments.

In transit, the Nassua Inter-County Express (NICE) in New York has awarded Clean Energy the contract to design, build, operate and maintain a new CNG station that upon completion will replace its existing Mitchel Field station, and operate and maintain the existing CNG stations. The five-year contract valued at just over $13 million will extend the partnership between NICE and Clean Energy and will support a fleet of over 200 CNG buses. Clean Energy currently supports another 100 CNG buses at an additional station and provides a total of 4.6 million GGEs of CNG annually for the NICE bus fleet. Completion of the new station is expected for summer 2017.

Clean Energy has also been contracted by W.M. Schlosser Co. to build a fast-fill CNG station at a new bus depot being constructed for Arlington Transit (ART), which will initially deploy 25 new CNG transit buses that are expected to consume 225,000 DGEs of CNG a year. ART has plans to grow the fleet to 75 CNG buses.

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) ordered an additional 80 buses that will fuel at a Clean Energy operated and maintained station, which is expected to be an incremental 700,000 DGEs of CNG annually.

In school transportation, the North Kansas City School District will replace 124 school buses with new CNG buses with an option to purchase an additional 30 over the next 10 years. Clean Energy will construct a new station that includes fast-fill and time-fill fueling options using two Clean Energy Compression (CEC) compressors as well as modifying a maintenance facility to facilitate CNG buses. The 15-year contact will be funded through financing secured by the District and is a joint-partnership between the North Kansas City School District, Clean Energy and Midwest Bus Sales, based in Bonner Springs, Kansas, which will supply the District’s new CNG school buses. This transition for the 20,000-student School District will begin for the 2016 school year.

In trucking, Raven Transport has ordered an additional 20 LNG trucks to add to their fleet of 187 LNG trucks fueling with Clean Energy. The new trucks will fuel at Clean Energy stations in the southeast U.S. and are expected to consume 420,000 DGEs of LNG annually.

Clean Energy further expanded its fueling partnership with Dart Trucking as it redeploys 25 CNG trucks to new Clean Energy stations in Ohio and Missouri. Clean Energy will open five additional stations for the fleet that is expected to consume 450,000 DGEs a year.

Bimbo Bakeries, currently fueling a fleet of CNG trucks at a Clean Energy station in Sacramento, California, will deploy nine additional CNG trucks in Pennsylvania that are expected to consume over 40,000 DGEs a year.

Manhattan Beer Distributers signed a new agreement to fuel 20 CNG trucks at multiple Clean Energy stations in New York, consuming an expected 160,000 DGEs annually.

Off Spec Solutions will begin fueling 25 LNG trucks at several Clean Energy stations in the southwest U.S. and are expected to consume 250,000 DGEs a year.

Schmidt Liquid Transport will initially deploy 10 CNG trucks and fuel at the recently opened Clean Energy station in North Platte, Nebraska. These trucks are expected to consume 180,000 DGEs a year and Schmidt has plans to increase its CNG fleet.

Central Freight and Clean Energy expanded their fueling partnership with an additional 21 trucks fueling at Clean Energy’s Love Field station in Dallas and are forecasted to consume 149,000 DGEs of CNG annually.

Modern Transportation signed a new fuel agreement that will expand an existing partnership with over 20 CNG and LNG trucks which are being deployed in Florida, South Carolina, Texas and Colorado. The new trucks are expected to consume in excess of 400,000 DGEs of fuel a year.

In refuse, Republic Services continues to expand its already significant partnership with Clean Energy with a recent operations and maintenance agreement for a station that fuels 75 refuse trucks in Huntington Beach, California, which are expected to consume 600,000 DGEs of CNG a year. Garden City Sanitation in Santa Clara, California, signed an operations and maintenance agreement that will serve 45 refuse trucks that consume 350,000 DGEs a year.

The City of Spokane, Washington, will begin fueling 20 solid waste trucks at a recently opened CNG station that was designed and equipped by Clean Energy. The City plans to add approximately 10 trucks per year with as many as 100 eventually being fueled at the station. Each truck is expected to consume 11,500 DGEs annually.

In bulk fuel sales, PG&E signed a bulk fuel sales contract to receive over 500,000 gallons of LNG from Clean Energy’s Boron plant in July and another 1 million gallons of LNG in August for a pipeline integrity testing program.

Over the last four months, Clean Energy has expanded its America Natural Gas Highway of truck-friendly stations with openings in Midway, Ocala and Orlando, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Eden, North Carolina; Pearl, Mississippi; Knoxville, Texas; Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Fort Chiswell and Ruther Glen, Virginia; Perris, California, Lake Havasu, Aarizona; Vandalia, Ohio; and Kansas City, Kansas. This brings the total to 19 Clean Energy stations opened in 2015 which can accommodate a heavy-duty truck.

 

Anheuser-Busch to Deploy 97 CNG Tractors in St. Louis

August 25, 2015

Anheuser-Busch is replacing all 97 diesel-fueled tractors in its St. Louis fleet with new CNG tractors. By transitioning to the latest CNG technology, Anheuser-Busch expects to significantly reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and further achieve its sustainability goals.

The St. Louis announcement marks Anheuser-Busch’s second full brewery fleet transition, following last year’s successful replacement of 66 tractors in Houston. Approximately 30 percent of Anheuser-Busch’s heavy-haul dedicated tractors now run on cleaner-burning natural gas.

“Transitioning our entire St. Louis tractor fleet to CNG-powered engines brings environmental benefits directly to our company and our community,” said James Sembrot, Senior Director, Transportation, Anheuser-Busch. “A conversion of this scale is indicative of the commitment we’ve made to deploying more sustainable technologies and processes at each stage of the brewing process—from Seed to Sip.”

The CNG conversion comes as the 2015 football season kicks off, one of the St. Louis brewery’s busiest shipping periods of the year. The CNG tractors will ship approximately 31 million cases of beer this fall, supporting sales throughout the entire Midwest. Through advanced engine technologies, the company anticipates a 23 percent reduction in greenhouse gases versus conventional diesel equipment.

Anheuser-Busch’s St. Louis brewery is one of the company’s largest facilities, served by a fleet that travels 11 million miles annually throughout the Midwest. The abundance of natural gas filling stations, combined with the fleet’s high mileage, made the company’s hometown of St. Louis a strategic choice for conversion.

“I want to thank Anheuser-Busch for setting an example for businesses across the City by committing to environmentally-friendly business practices,” said St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. “With Anheuser-Busch identifying and implementing sustainable alternatives, the company is helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make St. Louis a better place for all of us to live, work and play.”

Part of the company’s ‘Seed to Sip’ environmental commitment, the St. Louis CNG fleet conversion furthers a global initiative to reduce logistics-related carbon emissions by 15 percent through 2017. Parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev has made similar fleet conversions in China, Europe and Brazil as part of an effort to reduce carbon emissions globally across facilities.

The new, Freightliner-produced, natural gas-fueled tractors will be filled at a recently opened CNG station operated by U.S. Gain, near the St. Louis brewery. Amerit will provide maintenance support at a nearby facility, recently retrofitted to accommodate the new CNG fleet. J.B. Hunt, a leading transportation provider, will continue to manage Anheuser-Busch’s St. Louis dedicated fleet of tractors and drivers. Agility will provide the new CNG fleet with logistical support, and Element will oversee tractor leasing.

 

AmeriPride Releases Sustainability Report Highlighting NGV Deployments

August 26, 2015

AmeriPride Services, a leading textile rental services and supply company in North America, announced the availability of its first-ever Corporate Responsibility Report. The report outlines key programs and initiatives AmeriPride is implementing across the company as part of its commitment to environmental sustainability, the health and safety of its employees and the well-being of the communities it serves.

“We’re excited to share this snapshot of our efforts to be a sustainability leader in the industry and have a positive impact in the communities we serve,” said Bill Evans, President and CEO at AmeriPride. “As one of the larger players in the industry, the family ownership and management at AmeriPride believe it’s our responsibility to use our available resources to test and help advance new environmentally-friendly technologies.”

Evans added that by striving to set the standard for clean operations—both in its facilities and on the roads—the company is often able to pass efficiency and value on to customers. Recent environmental achievements outlined in the report include the deployment of 15 CNG trucks and the purchase agreements for an additional 20 CNG trucks to be deployed by the end of the year.

 

TIMCO Opens Second CNG Station near LAX Airport in California

August 26, 2015

Evergreen CNG Systems announced it has provided the compression equipment and engineering assistance for TIMCO’s second CNG station located near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The company also operates a CNG station in Santa Ana, California, off the I-5 freeway.

The new station features three dispenser with six nozzles. One hose offers a CT-5000 high-flow nozzle for heavy-duty vehicles. Two Evergreen 300 hp compressors provide flow rates up to 810 scfm with approximately 900 GGE/hour peak supply. The station is unmanned and monitored remotely.

 

APG Secure $3.25 Million in Financing for Flare Capture Recovery Systems

August 27, 2015

American Power Group announced that it has secured $3.25 million of term loan financing from an accredited institutional investor. The proceeds will be used to purchase two additional Flare Capture and Recovery Systems that can monetize captured flared gas converted into natural gas liquids (NGL). In addition, one of the two units will be able to produce CNG for APG’s Turbocharged Natural Gas Dual Fuel conversion technology.

APG recently announced signing a license agreement with Trident Resources (Trident) for the exclusive worldwide right to commercialize Trident’s proprietary NGL processing technology. APG purchased certain of Trident’s operating assets including two existing mobile NGL processing systems currently servicing remote or stranded well sites for one of the top five oil and gas exploration and production companies in the Bakken region of North Dakota. The purchase of the two new additional systems is in response to demand from operators of existing remote/stranded well sites and allows APG to increase processing capability in the Bakken to meet the more stringent flare capture regulations coming due in 2016 and 2020. An average remote or stranded well site producing one to two million cubic feet of flared gas per day has the capacity to produce several million gallons of NGL on an annual basis.

 

Allied Specialty Vehicles Supplies CNG School Buses in Pennsylvania

August 27, 2015

Allied Specialty Vehicles (ASV), a manufacturer of motor vehicles for commercial, fire and emergency and recreation markets, announced that its Collins Bus Corporation subsidiary has delivered the first four production units of its new NEXBUS CNG Type A school bus to the Lower Merion School District in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. With more than half of its 117 vehicle fleet fueled by CNG, the Lower Merion School District boasts one of the largest fleets of alternative fuel school buses on the East coast.

“We are excited to see the delivery of the first Ford Factory OEM approved CNG Type A school bus,” said John Walsh, vice president of sales for ASV Bus. “The Collins NEXBUS CNG model demonstrates ASV’s commitment to meeting customer demands for environmentally friendly vehicles powered by clean alternative fuel systems that reduce carbon emissions.”

The four Collins NEXBUS CNG models, purchased through Wolfington Body Company in Exton, Pennsylvania, are built on a Ford E-450 cutaway truck chassis equipped with a gaseous engine prep package and feature the CNG Westport WiNG Power System, a dedicated natural gas fuel system for light-duty vehicles certified under the Ford Quality Vehicle Modifier (QVM) program. This certification maintains the Ford Factory 3-year/36,000 mile chassis engine and powertrain warranty.

 

ANGI Energy Systems Names New Director of International Sales & Business Development

August 25, 2015

ANGI Energy Systems has appointed Timothy Boyle as the organization’s new Director of International Sales & Business Development.  Boyle will be responsible for all sales efforts outside of the United States and Canada including Mexico, Central/South America, and Asia.  Prior to assuming this role, Boyle held a key position at ANGI as Midwest Regional Sales Manager.  Boyle has 39 years of experience in the natural gas vehicle and thermal transfer (tube trailer) industry and has been with ANGI for 15 years.

“With decades of experience in the natural gas vehicle business all over the world, Tim is the logical choice to advance our international growth strategy,” said Jared Hightower, Vice President of Sales.  “This move builds on ANGI’s strong history serving dozens of global markets with one of the most diverse and robust NGV product lines.”

Boyle’s role will be to expand ANGI’s business through existing channels and explore new geographic markets for ANGI’s products and services for the thermal transfer and NGV/GNV industry.

Timothy Boyle can be reached at 608.563.2842 or tboyle@angienergy.com.

 

NASSCO Launch Second Ship in Series of First LNG Containerships

August 29, 2015

General Dynamics NASSCO launched the second ship in a series of the world’s first natural gas powered containerships. The christening and launch ceremony took place at the company’s shipyard in San Diego. The ship, the Perla del Caribe, was constructed by NASSCO shipbuilders and measuring the same length as two-and-a-half football fields, will carry cargo exports between U.S.-owned ports.

As part of a two-ship contract signed in December 2012 with TOTE, the 764-foot long Marlin class containerships will be the largest dry cargo ships of its kind in the world powered by LNG. This ship technology, designed by NASSCO and its partners, will decrease emissions while increasing fuel efficiency when compared to conventionally-powered ships. Upon delivery of the first vessel in late-2015, the Jones Act-qualified ships will operate between Jacksonville, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Video of the launch and ceremony can be found here.