A Hunts Point RNG station seeks to transform ‘Asthma Alley’
NEW YORK—Clean Energy Fuels Corp. recently celebrated the opening of its newest natural gas fueling station, the first in New York City to exclusively offer renewable natural gas for medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets. The station is in the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx.
“Hunts Point is a heavily industrialized, heavy truck-traffic area serving the greater five boroughs,” Chad Lindholm, Clean Energy Fuels vice president, told American Gas. “There are about 15,000 truck trips a day moving goods in and out of this small, compact area. And there’s a lot of congestion and pollution. In fact, the area has been nicknamed ‘Asthma Alley.’ If New York City is going to have an alternative-fuel option for fleets, there is no better place to be.”
According to Lindholm, there are literally thousands of fleet vehicles moving through the area, yet few are currently equipped for natural gas. “The number of natural gas trucks is just over 200,” he told us.
He believes there are three main reasons for that. “There has not been adequate fueling infrastructure in place to serve fleets wishing to make the transition to natural gas. Up until now, there hasn’t been a strong policy push from elected officials as well as the environmental community to find creative ways to work with companies like ours to get the stations built. And there haven’t been strong financing models that make business sense. But we met with over 100 fleets that serve the area, and there’s a strong interest in moving to a more stable and environmentally friendly fuel.”
Clean Energy Fuels owns four other natural gas stations in the five boroughs, and those are located at the major airports and near other congestion-heavy areas. The company—which, according to Lindholm, “represents well over 50 percent of the RNG distributed throughout North America”—has 20 other locations in the state. “In most cases, we’re the owner, the operator and the retailer,” Lindholm said. “We build the station and then turn around and provide all of the ongoing operations, marketing and retailing. It’s a ‘soup-to-nuts’ solution. That’s Hunts Point.”
And it appears to be off to a strong start. “The reception has been very, very positive,” Lindholm told us. “Fleets currently running gas and diesel trucks can now expand into RNG, and fleets that have long had interest in natural gas now have a state-of-the-art station. The community has fully embraced this fuel as well as our company. We’re excited about moving forward.”