Clean Energy Secures Las Vegas Retail CNG Stations
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) has agreed to transfer ownership of five existing Las Vegas compressed natural gas (CNG) public access fueling stations to Clean Energy Fuels Corp., pending lease agreements with the landowners at the sites of the five stations.
In addition to station ownership, Clean Energy will assume management and maintenance responsibilities for the stations, which can serve growing numbers of CNG-powered municipal fleet vehicles, airport and hotel shuttle vans, limousines, taxis, and passenger cars. Clean Energy has entered into a lease agreement with respect to the owner of three of the stations, according to a Nov. 7 press release.
"Las Vegas is an excellent CNG vehicle market because it is relatively small geographically, and much of the traffic is concentrated in the resort corridor and adjacent airport area, making fuel station access very convenient," said James Harger, senior vice president of Clean Energy.
"Air quality is compromised in Las Vegas and the opportunity for the city to shift more vehicles of all types to natural gas with the geography and fueling infrastructure in place can make it one of the first natural gas vehicle cities in the nation," Harger added. "The favorable cost differential between natural gas and conventional fuels adds even more value for private fleets and consumers."
Clean Energy's acquisition complements RTC's April 2008 contract award to operate and maintain two RTC transit fueling stations in Las Vegas. RTC is both the transit authority and the transportation-planning agency for Southern Nevada. The two RTC transit stations currently fuel more than 50 CNG buses and paratransit buses serving the greater Las Vegas region. A total of 45 additional new CNG buses are on order for delivery in early 2009. When fully deployed, the total resulting incremental sales at the transit stations will be 1.5 million gasoline gallon equivalents annually.