Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Leslie S. Richards announced at a media event on March 28, that the Trillium CNG team, which includes Larson Design Group of Williamsport, has been selected for the department's Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) transit fueling station Public-Private Partnership (P3) project.
Through the $84.5 million project, Trillium will design, build, finance, operate and maintain CNG fueling stations at 29 public transit agency sites through a 20-year P3 agreement. Stations will be constructed over the next five years and the firm will also make CNG-related upgrades to existing transit maintenance facilities.
"The department is excited to partner on this project that will bring benefits for the state, our transit partners and the public for years to come," Richards said. "The project's aggressive schedule means that we'll realize cost, environmental and operational benefits quickly."
As part of Trillium's proposal, CNG fueling will be accessible to the public at seven transit agency sites, with the option to add to additional sites in the future. PennDOT will receive a 15 percent royalty, excluding taxes, for each gallon of fuel sold to the public, which will be used to support the cost of the project. The team has guaranteed at least $2.1 million in royalties over the term of the agreement.
PennDOT also expects transit agencies and the department to see significant savings due to the project. Based on current CNG, diesel and gasoline prices as well as fuel usage, agencies can save a total of more than $10 million annually. Due to these expected savings, transit agencies' sustainability is increased and dependency on state operational subsidies is reduced. After 10 years, the department estimates that the project will pay for itself with the estimated $100 million in savings.
"With Pennsylvania's natural gas resources, this project will not only bring efficiencies for transit agencies and the state, but we're also helping establish a foothold for the CNG transportation market in areas that may not have seen this opportunity for some time," Richards said.
Using the P3 procurement mechanism allows PennDOT to install the fueling stations faster than if a traditional procurement mechanism was used for each site, resulting in significant estimated capital cost savings of more than $46 million.
"This is an exciting day for Pennsylvania as we connect vital citizen services with forward-looking infrastructure," said Sen. John Wozniak, Johnstown, who participated in the event. "I'm also pleased that this project will start in our backyard so this region can quickly reap this partnership's benefits."
When the project is completed, the fueling stations will supply gas to more than 1,600 CNG buses at transit agencies across the state.
"I'm happy to be working with the administration in fulfilling the natural gas promise in making Johnstown the first natural gas public-private partnership," said Rep. Bryan Barbin, Johnstown, who also joined the event.
