NYC welcomes its first renewable natural gas fueling station
New York City officials welcomed the city’s first natural gas fueling station this week.
The fueling station — located in Hunts Point in the Bronx – will exclusively offer renewable natural gas (RNG) produced by Clean Energy Fuels Corp. for medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets. Clean Energy’s Redeem gas is the first commercially available RNG vehicle fuel derived from capturing biogenic methane emitted from decomposing organic materials at dairies, landfills, and wastewater treatment plants.
“A few blocks from here is Hunts Point Market, the largest food distribution center of its kind in the world, resulting in approximately 15,000 truck trips per day,” Chad Lindholm, vice president of sales for Clean Energy, said. “This long-envisioned station will serve fleets operating in Hunts Point with a lower-cost alternative to diesel fuel that can lead to substantial reductions in truck-related pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.”
Redeem boasts a 70 percent reduction in carbon emissions compared to diesel or gasoline, according to estimates from the California Air Resources Board. Clean Energy Fuels is the leading provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America.
“I applaud and congratulate Clean Energy today on making a renewable natural gas fueling station a reality for Hunts Point trucking fleets in the South Bronx. Natural Gas trucks, particularly ones fueled by renewable natural gas, have a tremendously low carbon footprint, which is important for communities disproportionately affected by diesel emissions,” NYC DOT Bronx Borough Commissioner Nivardo Lopez said. “The addition of this station now makes possible and plausible the transition of large portions of Hunts Point fleet industries to this cleaner, domestically produced fuel.”
City officials, community leaders, and environmental advocates were on hand for the official opening of RNG station this week.
“This new Hunts Point station is no ordinary fueling station. It is the first in the City to supply only the renewable form of natural gas made from waste,” Joanna Underwood, founder, Energy Vision, said. “Private and public fleets that fill up here can provide their critical services with virtually no health-threatening air pollution or greenhouse gases. Bravo to Clean Energy for helping our City achieve its clean air and climate goals.”
Natural gas-powered trucks with Baldor Specialty Foods, Manhattan Beer Distributors, and U.S. Concrete were also at the opening ready to fuel up.
“The new natural gas fueling station opening in Hunts Point is a great steppingstone to help move the trucking industry into the next generation of fueling options for our fleets,” Baldor Express Transportation Manager Thomas Galm said. “The availability of CNG in our area opens the opportunity for more fleets to add CNG-powered vehicles to their fleets where these options previously did not exist. We expect increased savings to our fuel budget as well as a greatly diminished carbon footprint for the environment.”
