Trillium CNG to Build CNG Locations for Miami-Dade County’s DOT

Love’s Trillium CNG, part of the Love’s Family of Companies, has finalized an agreement to bring two CNG facilities to south Florida. According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, the stations will be the only CNG locations in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The county awarded Trillium the contract under which the company will design, build and maintain the CNG facilities, upgrade maintenance facilities, as well as procure 300 CNG buses for the county’s public transportation system.

“This is easily one of the most innovative public-private collaborations we’ve undertaken with a transit agency,” said Bill Cashmareck, Director of Trillium CNG. “Our goal is to simplify sustainability, meaning that we’ll take care of the details, which allows our Customers, like Miami-Dade County, to focus on offering the best level of service to their Customers while running on clean fuel.”

The stations will serve approximately 250 Miami-Dade County buses each. Trillium has contracted with New Flyer to provide the first 300 CNG buses. The 40-foot Xcelsior CNG buses will be delivered throughout 2017 and 2018. The agency may add CNG buses in the future.

The Miami-Dade County Metrobus system provides service along 95 bus routes that travel 29 million miles per year throughout the county, including parts of Broward County and the Middle Keys. County officials say the agreement will help them reach their goals of meeting the transportation needs of their customers while increasing sustainability.

“As mayor, it’s my responsibility to seek the best possible future for our children and grandchildren from both a financial and environmental perspective, and I believe compressed natural gas and renewable natural gas for our county’s buses will move us towards that goal,” said Carlos Giménez, Mayor of Miami-Dade County.

Both locations will have separate fueling islands for the public. Construction on the first facility is slated to begin later this year and open early next year, and construction on the second station is scheduled to start this winter and be open by summer 2018.

Trillium will provide the fuel for both stations, with a minimum of 20 percent of the fuel will be RNG. The agreement also includes CNG-related updates to existing transit maintenance, new fueling buildings, bus washes, and a 10-year operation and maintenance agreement.

Love’s Travel Stops currently operates 13 travel stops in Florida, with additional locations in Moore Haven, Bushnell and Lake Wales scheduled to open this year. Trillium operates five CNG facilities in the state, two of which they own.