Clean Energy provides operations update

Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a provider of clean fuel for the transportation market based in Newport Beach, California, has provided several operational updates on its renewable natural gas (RNG) production.  

According to a news release from Clean Energy, the company has been awarded a contract by San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), to provide an expected 86 million gallons of RNG to operate its bus fleet.  

“San Diego MTS was an early adopter of natural gas in the 1990s and has continued to seek cleaner and more economical fueling options,” says Clean Energy Senior Vice President Chad Lindholm. “As a result of the use of RNG, the people who live in the San Diego area will have less exposure to greenhouse gas emissions and cleaner air.”  

MTS serves the San Diego metropolitan area with a fleet of 764 buses, of which 595 run on RNG, that fuel at four private transit stations. By operating on RNG instead of diesel, it is expected that the fleet will reduce 73,972 metric tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of planting 1.2 million trees, taking 15,939 gasoline cars off the road or recycling 25,596 tons of landfill waste annually.  

RNG Production  

Clean Energy says it continues to make significant investments in the production of additional RNG sources and has partnered with TotalEnergies and BP to sign partnerships with dairy owners around the country.  

The project at Del Rio Dairy in Texas, which is part of Clean Energy’s joint venture with France-based TotalEnergies, is in final commissioning with manure introduced to the digester and its first gas injection is expected in the first quarter of this year. When operational, the manure from Del Rio’s 8,000 milking cows is anticipated to produce more than a million gallons of RNG a year.  

Construction at South Fork Dairy in Hart County, Texas, is expected to commence soon with an anticipated 2.6 million gallons of RNG to be produced annually once completed.  

Construction at the first dairy projects in Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota through the joint venture with BP, London, are nearing completion. RNG is expected to begin to flow in the first quarter of 2023, with five total projects online by the middle of the year.

Expanding with new and existing customers  

Filamar Energy Services, a full-service energy logistics provider based in Houston, signed an agreement with Clean Energy for an anticipated 4.2 million gallons of compressed natural gas to power 50 heavy-duty trucks. These will be supported by a new station in Hennessey, Oklahoma, to be built by Clean Energy.  

“Our carbon-neutral logistics service will support customers who want to further decrease their environmental footprint,” says Filamar CEO Lambert Arceneaux. “In addition to CNG’s certain environmental benefits, it also makes Filamar a more efficient transportation provider by lowering fuel costs making our business and the industry more efficient.”  

An early adopter of clean transportation, Denver International Airport (DEN) has contracted Clean Energy to upgrade five fueling facilities that will power 95 natural gas vehicles with an anticipated 5 million gallons of RNG. The new stations are expected to be completed later in 2023.  

The expanded availability of RNG at the airport will accommodate additional airport transportation, like rental car firms and air freight operators, to provide low-carbon transportation.  

Clean Energy began providing RNG to long-time customer Jacksonville Transit, transitioning the large Jacksonville, Florida, transit agency to the cleanest available fuel option. Jacksonville Transit is committed to about 2.1 million gallons annually to power its fleet of buses.  

Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) in Canton, Ohio, has signed an operations and maintenance agreement with Clean Energy for its station, which powers 60 buses with an anticipated 2.5 million gallons of natural gas. SARTA is committed to growing its low and zero-emission fleet and plans to phase out all diesel fuel in the next few years.  

Clean Energy will continue to serve Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMTA) by extending an operations and maintenance agreement for WMTA’s stations in Washington and Arlington, Virginia, which fuel 300 buses with about 4.6 million gallons of natural gas.  

Clean Energy is extending its partnership with Burbank, California, for an additional 10 years, providing an anticipated 5 million gallons of RNG at two stations to fuel 50 trucks and transit vehicles.  

US Foods, a transporter of food products with operations in Sacramento, has signed a fueling agreement for an estimated 280,000 gallons of RNG to power 17 trucks.  

More clean vehicles are coming to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Clean Energy has signed fueling agreements with Pacific Expressway and others for about 2.2 million gallons of RNG.  

Propark, a national parking and transit provider for Yale University Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, has signed a fueling agreement for an anticipated 400,000 gallons of natural gas to power its shuttle buses.