NGVAmerica News Week in Review: July 18, 2016

• Las Vegas RTC to Add 55 CNG Buses to Transit Fleet
• Energy Commission Announces Off-Road Natural Gas Vehicle Funding Opportunity
• Love’s Travel Stops adds CNG to travel stop in Guthrie, Oklahoma
• SoCalGas Opens New Public CNG Station in Southern California
• Ohio State University Constructing New CNG Station
• Boreas Natural Gas Enters Natural Gas Fuels Market
• Greenkraft Now Offering Allison Transmissions for Their Alternative Fuel Trucks
• Wärtsilä in Coalition to Promote LNG as a Marine Fuel

 

Las Vegas RTC to Add 55 CNG Buses to Transit Fleet

July 13, 2016

New Flyer announced that the Regional Transportation Commission of Las Vegas (RTC) in Southern Nevada will exercise options for the purchase of 55 40-ft. and 60-ft. CNG Xcelsior buses.

RTC is both the transit authority and the transportation-planning agency for Southern Nevada and specifically Las Vegas. Its mandate includes identification of transportation challenges and implementation of short and long-term resolutions, while simultaneously promoting sustainability, air quality improvement, enhanced mobility and increased quality of life in the region.

RTC will exercise options for 30 Xcelsior CNG 40-ft. buses and 25 60-ft. CNG Xcelsior buses, from a contract announced in March 2015.

“We are thrilled that for the past 25 years, New Flyer continues to be awarded opportunities to build transit buses for Las Vegas RTC,” said Paul Soubry, President and CEO of New Flyer. “RTC is a transit system that is unquestionably committed to quality, performance and reliability and the New Flyer Xcelsior is a perfect fit.”

 

Energy Commission Announces Off-Road Natural Gas Vehicle Funding Opportunity

July 14, 2016

The California Energy Commission recently released a $4 million grant funding solicitation for the research and development of natural gas engines for medium and heavy duty off-road vehicles (ORVs) supporting the agricultural, construction, industrial, port and cargo sectors.

The solicitation aims to reduce transportation emissions in California’s most severely polluted regions – the San Joaquin Valley and the South Coast Air Basin – and encourages demonstrations in those areas. It covers ORVs commonly employed for heavy hauling such as those used for waste transport, mining and semi-tractor trailer applications. It also covers items like yard tractors and cranes found at ports and cargo handling areas.

The Energy Commission has a history of supporting the research and development of advanced natural gas engine technologies, focusing primarily on on-road, heavy-duty vehicles, which are the largest source of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in the San Joaquin Valley and the South Coast Air Basins. The solicitation continues that effort by targeting ORVs, the second largest source of these emissions.

Pre-application workshops, which provide an overview of the funding opportunity and allow attendees to ask questions and network with other interested applicants, are scheduled Tuesday, July 26 in Diamond Bar and Friday, July 29, in Modesto. Solicitation details are available on the Energy Commission’s website.

The deadline to submit applications is September 8, 2016. The Solicitation Files are also available on the Energy Commission’s website.

 

Love’s Travel Stops Adds CNG to Travel Stop in Oklahoma

July 12, 2016

Love’s Travel Stops has added CNG fueling to the Love’s Travel Stop in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The CNG station, which is located off the I-35, provides fast-fill fueling for heavy duty trucks and motorists. Trillium CNG, part of the Love’s Family of Companies, will maintain the CNG fuel systems at the travel stop to give Customers continued reliable service.

Adding CNG to Guthrie, located approximately 40 miles north of Oklahoma City, is ideal due to the heavy traffic I-35 experiences and it fits in well with other Love’s Fast-Fill CNG locations. Drivers can now fill up with CNG at four Love’s locations on I-35 from San Antonio, Texas, to Guthrie. Guthrie is Love’s 18^th overall location to offer Love’s Fast-Fill CNG.

In addition to CNG, professional drivers can take advantage of several services and amenities at Love’s locations, including truck parking, TirePass and other Love’s Truck Tire Care services, and quick-service restaurants. Love’s Fast-Fill CNG offers a fill rate of greater than 10 GGEs per minute.

“As Love’s and Trillium move forward together, we will keep our focus on designing and building high-quality CNG stations, both for ourselves and others,” said Bill Cashmareck, general manager of natural gas for Love’s. “Trillium will also keep providing maintenance services for existing locations, and for others in the CNG market.”

 

SoCalGas Opens New Public CNG Station in Southern California

July 13, 2016

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas), along with local officials, business representatives and employees marked the opening of a new public CNG station in Pico Rivera, California. SoCalGas says the new CNG station extends the network of CNG stations across a key regional goods movement corridor and will provide owners and operators of natural gas-fueled trucks and other vehicles with a convenient place to fuel.

“Southern California is leading the nation’s clean energy revolution,” said Linda Sánchez, who represents the 38^th District of California that includes Pico Rivera. “This new fueling station will improve public transportation for the region, grow our economy, and help our community fight air pollution.”

The new CNG station will help improve air quality by providing a more convenient location for CNG fueling and by helping to meet growing demand from commercial fleets for clean-burning natural gas.

“The MSRC was proud to provide $150,000 in Clean Transportation Funding to SoCalGas for the equipment, installation and other costs to help build this CNG station,” said Greg Pettis, chair of the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) and mayor pro-tem of Cathedral City, Calif. “This is the second SoCalGas station this year for which the MSRC has provided funding, so we are excited to help contribute to the continually expanding network of CNG fueling stations across the Southland.”

 

Ohio State University Breaks Ground on New CNG Station

July 11, 2016

The Ohio State University broke ground on a new CNG fueling station — the first of its kind for an Ohio university. The station will serve the university’s Department of Transportation and Traffic Management, as well as the City of Columbus, and may be utilized by additional university, state agency and central Ohio municipalities.

“Resource stewardship is a critical part of our quest to be a global leader in sustainability,” said Ohio State President Michael V. Drake. “I’m proud of this step forward to a more economical alternative fuel for our bus system, and I look forward to exploring how the rest of our university fleet, including cars and vans, can be powered by CNG.”

Ohio State’s Campus Area Bus Service (CABS) will fuel a portion of its fleet at the $3 million CNG station with long-term plans to transition all CABS buses and other fleet vehicles to alternative fuel models. The university currently operates four CNG buses and will add six more by October 2017.

“By looking to alternative fuel sources, we demonstrate Ohio State’s commitment to reducing transportation’s impact, both on and off campus,” said Kate Bartter, director of Ohio State’s Office of Energy and Environment. “We remain committed to environmental and fiscal responsibility as we work to reduce our carbon footprint.”

The CNG fueling station highlights the university’s commitment to providing sustainable transportation solutions for its campus community. The addition of a fueling station comes one year after Ohio State welcomed a university bike share system to its Columbus campus. Construction will begin immediately with the station expected to be operational by early 2017.

The City of Columbus will also have the ability to fuel fleet vehicles at the university’s station. “The city is committed to sustainable transportation solutions,” said Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “The sharing of the CNG fueling station by university and city fleets is emblematic of the collaborative nature of our relationship.”

 

Boreas Natural Gas Enters Natural Gas Fuels Market

July 14, 2016

Boreas Natural Gas announced that it has commenced operations providing products, services and customized turnkey solutions for the natural gas fuels market. Founded by the industry veteran Cem Hacioglu, Boreas Natural Gas is the second natural gas fuels company Hacioglu has led after Applied LNG where he was the President and CEO from 2009 to 2015.

Headquartered in Westlake Village, California, Boreas Natural Gas is the result of Hacioglu’s vision to create a self-sustaining natural gas fuels supply chain. Hacioglu says that Boreas will initially focus on the operational and service aspects of the value chain and opportunistically move into the production and distribution segments.

In addition to sourcing LNG and CNG, Boreas will offer its customers service and development options, including the design, build-out, and operation of LNG plants and LNG/CNG fueling stations, as well as fuel storage and dispensing infrastructure for permanent use and temporary special projects. Boreas’ advisory and consulting services will include technical and operational evaluation of facilities and equipment, safety and regulatory compliance, and environmental credit programs, including credit generation, tracking and monetization at state and federal level.

For additional information, visit the Boreas Natural Gas website.

 

Greenkraft Now Offering Allison Transmissions for Their Alternative Fuel Trucks

July 11, 2016

Greenkraft announced that the Company is now manufacturing trucks designed to run with a package from Allison Transmission. The first line of trucks with Allison are available in classes from 19,500 lbs. to 26,000 lbs. GVWR, as well as other versions Greenkraft has in development for up to 33,000 lbs. GVWR.

Greenkraft says even experienced drivers benefit from more precise, safer handling and improved comfort of a fully automatic transmission. Fully automatic shifting reduces driver fatigue and keeps a driver’s attention on the road.

 

Wärtsilä in Coalition to Promote LNG as a Marine Fuel

July 13, 2016

Wärtsilä and other leading marine industry players have formed a coalition, known as SEA/LNG, to accelerate the widespread adoption of LNG as a marine fuel. The coalition aims to help break down the barriers hindering the global development of LNG in marine applications, thereby improving the environmental performance of the shipping industry.

In addition to Wärtsilä, the other partners in the SEA/LNG coalition include Carnival Corporation, DNV-GL, ENGIE, ENN Group, GE Marine, GTT, Lloyds Register, Mitsubishi, NYK Line, Port of Rotterdam, Qatargas, Shell Downstream and Tote. Each member organization commits mutually agreed human resources, data analysis, and knowledge sharing in support of the SEA/LNG initiatives and activities.

“We recognize the need to work closely with key players across the value chain, including shipping companies, classification societies, ports, major LNG suppliers, downstream companies, infrastructure providers and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to ensure an understanding of the environmental and performance benefits of LNG as a marine transport fuel,” said Peter Keller, chairman of SEA\LNG and executive vice president of TOTE Inc. “SEA\LNG aims to address market barriers and help transform the use of LNG as a marine fuel into a global reality.”

LNG offers significant environmental advantages for shipping compared to heavy fuel oil (HFO), which remains the predominant fuel used today. By comparison with HFO, NOx emissions are cut by approximately 85 percent, SOx emissions are almost completely eliminated since natural gas contains no sulphur, and particle production is practically non-existent, thanks to the efficient combustion of natural gas, a fuel with almost no residuals.

The main areas of focus for the coalition include supporting the development of LNG bunkering in major ports, educating stakeholders as to the risks and opportunities in the use of LNG fuel, and developing globally consistent regulations for cleaner shipping fuels.