Clean Energy Fuels Corporation, in partnership with TMA Bucks, Pothole Killers/Patch Management and Bucks County Transport, celebrated the opening of Clean Energy's first public access compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station to serve the Greater Philadelphia area with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by government and community leaders.
Built and maintained for public access 24/7 by Clean Energy, the new CNG station will support Bucks County Transport's fleet of CNG-fueled shared ride shuttle buses, the "rushbus" public transit fleet managed by TMA Bucks, as well as commercial refuse truck fleets, and other public and private CNG vehicles. The station is located on property leased from Pothole Killers/Patch Management at 451 Tyburn Road in Fairless Hills, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Speakers at the grand opening celebration, attended by state and local government officials, business and community leaders, included Peter Grace, Senior Vice President, Sales and Finance, Clean Energy; Vince Volpe, Executive Director, Bucks County Transport; Craig Baclit, President, Pothole Killers/Patch Management; Cosmo Servidio, Regional Director, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; and Elizabeth Murphy, Vice President, Government & External Affairs, PECO Energy.
The event was co-hosted by Patch Management and TMA Bucks. "The partnership with Clean Energy is the first step in this region towards assisting Pennsylvania in achieving energy self-sufficiency," said TMA Bucks Executive Director Bill Rickett, who was the MC for the event. "I am hopeful we can continue to build the compressed natural gas fueling infrastructure that will assist in reaching this goal."
Clean Energy's Peter Grace said, "Cleaner-burning and cost-efficient natural gas is becoming the transportation fuel of choice for a greater number of fleet and other types of vehicles. Clean Energy is thrilled that we will be part of this expansion in eastern Pennsylvania with our first of what we hope is many more public access CNG fueling stations."
The cost of the CNG station infrastructure and the new CNG transit shuttle buses was funded in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Alt Fuel Incentive Grant (AFIG) program. In making the award, the state's primary objective was to help provide clean-air, cost-efficient public transit services for citizens in the Bucks County region.
Priced up to $1.50 or more per gallon less than diesel fuel (based on current market conditions), the use of natural gas fuel reduces costs significantly for vehicle and fleet owners, and lowers greenhouse gas emissions up to 23 percent in medium to heavy-duty vehicles. Additionally, natural gas is a secure North American energy source, with 98 percent of the natural gas consumed produced in the U.S. and Canada.
