Clean Energy Fuels Corp. and Covanta Energy Corporation hosted opening ceremonies in Newark, N.J. for the first compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station built as part of a nationwide partnership between the two companies to expand the CNG fueling infrastructure across the country.
The new station, built and maintained by Clean Energy onsite at Covanta's energy-from-waste facility located in Newark, N.J., will supply CNG fuel to refuse trucks serving communities and businesses in Northern New Jersey and New York City. CNG fueling, combined with Covanta's energy-from-waste facility, which processes post-recycled municipal solid waste into clean, renewable electricity, creates a compelling economic and environmentally-friendly refuse management model the two companies plan to replicate across the United States.
Senior government officials, business executives and community leaders attended the grand opening ceremonies, which took place at the Covanta Essex Resource Recovery Facility at 66 Blanchard Street in Newark's East Ward.
"Our overriding mission is to set a national standard for urban transformation, a goal that includes improving environmental quality through transitioning to clean energy fuels for city vehicle fleets," said Newark Mayor Booker. "To this end, we are moving forward with a major program to replace our existing fleet of diesel-powered garbage trucks and street sweepers with new cleaner-operating CNG-fueled trucks. Our new fleet will fuel up here at the Clean Energy/Covanta natural gas fueling station that officially opens today."
"Today we celebrate the first station developed by our partnership with Covanta that we expect to bring cleaner and cheaper energy to the Northern New Jersey area," said Andrew J. Littlefair, president and CEO, Clean Energy. "This partnership is expected to enable more fleets and customers around the country to take advantage of the economic benefits of natural gas while reducing their carbon footprint in the community, a true win-win."
Anthony Orlando, president and CEO, Covanta Energy, commented, "Covanta is proud to partner with Clean Energy and the New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition in the installation of the new fueling station at our Energy-from-Waste Facility. CNG is the perfect complement to our work in converting post-recycled waste into clean electricity. This new CNG station is an important step in building out necessary infrastructure to support the transition to modern fleets of garbage trucks fueled by natural gas and that transition will provide economic and environmental benefits to the communities we serve."
Recovering energy from residual waste left over after recycling at energy-from-waste facilities like Covanta Essex offsets greenhouse gases and produces much needed renewable energy; reduces landfill use which preserves open space; protects the environment by employing state-of-the-art equipment and systems; and maximizes recycling and the reuse of resources.
This Clean Energy and Covanta CNG fueling station project is partially funded by a U.S. Department of Energy Federal Stimulus Grant through the New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition, a non-profit organization that works to educate the public about the environmental benefits of switching to vehicles powered by alternative fuels.
Natural gas fuel costs up to $1.50 less per gallon than gasoline or diesel, depending on local market conditions. The use of natural gas fuel not only reduces operating costs for vehicles, but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions up to 30 percent in light duty vehicles and 23 percent in medium to heavy duty vehicles. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that 98 percent of the natural gas consumed in the U.S. is sourced in the U.S. and Canada, making natural gas a secure North American energy choice.
