In the United States (US), Clean Energy Fuels Corporation (Clean Energy) has announced the opening of two new fueling stations in the Dallas region that offer heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) and other fleet vehicles with renewable natural gas (RNG), one of the only fuels that receive a carbon-negative rating.
A station in North Fort Worth, near Alliance and Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) airports, and another in South Dallas close to I-45, I-35, and I-20 highways, are strategically located near dozens of distribution centers and allow trucks to take advantage of fuel that provides similar convenience as diesel, yet is rated as one of the cleanest in the world.
The two stations expand Clean Energy’s fueling network of over 600 stations and open at a time when RNG is becoming a fuel that many fleets are embracing to meet their carbon emissions reduction goals.
Positive responsive to Cummins’ X15N CNG engine
A new 15-liter natural gas engine for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs), the Cummins’ X15N, is anticipated to be commercially available later in 2024.
It is currently being tested by some of the largest and most demanding fleets in the country, including Walmart, Werner, Knight Swift, FedEx Freight, and UPS.
The early reaction to the X15N engine has been positive at a time when the HDV market continues to struggle to find affordable and reliable alternatives to decarbonize their fleets.
In addition to heavy-duty truck fleets, there are seven hundred Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) buses, hundreds of sanitation trucks, airport shuttles, and other vehicles that support DFW and Austin-Bergstrom (AUS) airports, all of which operate on ultra-clean RNG.
The Dallas-Fort Worth area is already one of the biggest transportation hubs in the country and it is only getting bigger. These two new stations will provide heavy-duty truck fleets with the ease of fueling with RNG, which is becoming more recognized as the cleanest, most affordable, and readily available alternative fuel for the transportation market, said Chad Lindholm, SVP of Sales at Clean Energy.
Strategic locations
The North Fort Worth station is located adjacent to Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport and is equipped with multiple fast-fill fuel dispensers allowing HDVs to easily get in-and-out within 10-15 minutes with a full tank of RNG.
It also offers 82 private overnight fueling posts for heavy-duty trucks, allowing for cost-effective fueling, as well as 54 parking bays for box trucks and 140 for drivers’ vehicles.
The South Dallas station is near Lancaster and is equipped with multiple fast-fill dispensers, 80 private overnight fuel posts for HDVs, 120 parking places for drivers’ vehicles, and 41 for box trucks.
Investing in dairy RNG production capacity
Clean Energy is also investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the production of RNG at dairy farms in the United States, including a facility at Del Rio Dairy in Friona, TX, which began producing RNG in 2023, and another is expected to begin construction at South Fork Dairy in Dimmitt, TX, soon.
Agriculture accounts for nearly 10 percent of US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the transportation sector accounts for another 28 percent, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Capturing methane from farm waste lowers these emissions. RNG, produced by captured methane and used as a transportation fuel, significantly lowers GHG emissions on a lifecycle basis when compared to diesel.
This allows RNG to be one of the only transportation fuels to receive a negative carbon-intensity score based on the reduction of emissions at the source and the vehicle.
