Clean Energy Opens Large-Scale LNG Production Plant

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. has started up its California LNG Plant at Boron, Calif., the largest LNG (liquefied natural gas) production plant in the Southwest and the first large-scale plant in California, according to a Nov. 24 press release.

Built to produce up to 160,000 gallons per day of LNG, the plant is designed to expand production to 240,000 gallons per day as demand increases. The facility includes a 1.8-million-gallon LNG storage tank as an important regional supply source and to provide reserves for unanticipated demand.

The plant is located in the Mojave Desert approximately 125 miles from Los Angeles and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Over 500,000 gallons of LNG have been produced during its start-up phase and initial deliveries have been made to Clean Energy's new LNG port truck fueling station in Carson, Calif. The Clean Truck Program at the ports anticipates replacing over 8,000 old diesel trucks with new trucks that are proven to be cleaner than diesel, such as LNG trucks, within five years. These trucks are anticipated to be a major consumer of the LNG fuel produced at the California LNG Plant.

"We have built the new LNG production facility to respond to the critical need in Southern California and the Southwest for cleaner, more efficient fuel for port trucks and regional trucking," said Andrew J. Littlefair, president and chief executive officer of Clean Energy.