USA: Covanta Energy, Clean Energy Fuels to Build Natural Gas Stations

Covanta Energy Corporation, a world leader in sustainable waste management and renewable energy, and Clean Energy Fuels, North America’s largest provider of natural gas for transportation, announced an agreement to co-develop compressed natural gas (CNG) stations at select Covanta facilities throughout the U.S.

Covanta Energy operates over 40 state-of-the-art facilities that convert everyday trash into clean, renewable energy. The company also operates an additional 13 solid waste transfer stations. The two companies will work together to identify Covanta sites on which to construct CNG stations. Each station will provide compressed natural gas for a minimum of 30 refuse trucks a day and depending on the location, will be accessible to the public for CNG fueling.

“Covanta Energy is pleased to partner with Clean Energy and help in the conversion of refuse trucks to cleaner, more efficient technologies like natural gas powered vehicles,” said Joey Neuhoff, Covanta Energy vice president of business development. “The new CNG stations will complement our operations, as we are committed to limiting impacts to the environment and our communities and providing the cleanest, most reliable source of energy from waste in the world.”

The first Clean Energy CNG station at a Covanta facility will open at the Essex County Resource Recovery Facility in Newark, N.J. later this month. The station will provide cleaner, cost-efficient, domestic CNG fuel for the growing numbers of CNG refuse trucks that serve communities and businesses throughout the Northern New Jersey and New York City area. The Covanta Energy-from-Waste facility in Newark processes approximately 2,800 tons of municipal and commercial solid waste per day into approximately 65 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity — enough to power approximately 45,000 homes.

“For years, Covanta has been an innovative leader in providing clean, renewable energy to the communities they serve,” said Raymond P. Burke, Clean Energy’s Vice President for Solid Waste. “Clean Energy is honored to carry on that tradition with Covanta by supplying cleaner-burning, domestic natural gas to the fleets that use their facilities.”

The two companies are currently evaluating Covanta sites throughout the country to build additional CNG stations.

Clean Energy reliably fuels thousands of natural gas solid waste trucks every day across the U.S. and Canada, and the numbers are growing rapidly. The new Clean Energy CNG stations at Covanta’s facilities will accelerate the transition of fleets from diesel to cleaner, more economical and more efficient natural gas fuel.

Priced up to $1.50 per gallon less than diesel fuel (based on current market conditions), the use of natural gas fuel reduces costs significantly for vehicle and fleet owners, and lowers greenhouse gas emissions up to 23% in medium to heavy-duty vehicles. Additionally, natural gas is a secure North American energy source, with 98% of the natural gas consumed produced in the U.S. and Canada.

Recovering energy from residual waste left over after efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle is a critical component of sustainably managing waste. For every ton of municipal solid waste processed at Covanta’s Energy-from-Waste facilities, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by the equivalent of approximately one ton less of carbon dioxide emissions. 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.

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LNG World News Staff, January 3, 2013