Clean Energy, Covanta Energy Plan CNG Station (USA)

To support the growing demand for natural gas-fueled refuse vehicles in New Jersey, Clean Energy Fuels Corp.and Covanta Essex, a subsidiary of Covanta Energy Corporation, have been awarded a contract by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to site, build, and operate a compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station at the Essex County Resource Recovery Facility in Newark, NJ.

The CNG fueling station, to be built and operated by Clean Energy on the Covanta Essex site, will be a convenient and effective way for public and private municipal waste haulers to convert their fleets of diesel vehicles to cleaner, more economical and more efficient compressed natural gas vehicles. Natural gas refuse trucks provide significant reductions in emissions, are 90% quieter than traditional diesel trucks and displace the use of oil on a gallon-for-gallon basis.

“The deployment of natural gas-fueled refuse trucks is a win-win for the resource recovery facility and for the communities it serves, providing a greener collection process and reducing overall costs,” said Mark Riley, general manager, Eastern U.S. for Clean Energy. “We are pleased to be able to support the region with this valuable fueling resource.”

Covanta Essex operates the Essex County Resource Recovery Facility (ECRRF), which is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The ECRRF is an Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facility, located off the New Jersey Turnpike at Exit 15E in Newark, NJ, which generates approximately 500,000 megawatt hours of clean, renewable energy from municipal solid waste per year, while also recycling about 15,000 tons of metal. The facility reduces the need for over 350,000 tons of coal that would be needed to create the same amount of electricity and offsets 900,000 tons of greenhouse gases annually. This is possible due to the avoidance of methane from landfills, the offset of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel electrical production, and the recovery of metals for recycling.

“Covanta Essex is pleased to help in the conversion of refuse trucks to cleaner, more efficient technologies like natural gas,” said Hank Asher, Covanta Essex business manager. “Providing a cleaner fuel for trucks delivering municipal solid waste to our facility is a perfect complement to what we do here: generating clean, renewable energy. Covanta Essex is committed to supporting ventures like this and others to limit any adverse impacts to the environment and our community.”

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Source: Clean Energy Fuels, August 12, 2011;