LNG

Clean Energy Fuels Corp., the largest provider of renewable natural gas (RNG) made from waste for the trucking market, has opened a huge filling station that will provide 1.4 million gallons of RNG annually for online retailer Amazon and other truck fleets in the greater Chicago area.

“The addition of the Romeoville station to our fuelling network represents another step in the pathway for Amazon to realize significant carbon reduction for its transportation fleets,” said Chad Lindholm, senior vice president of Clean Energy.

“Trucks that operate on diesel are incredibly harmful to the air we breathe. Renewable natural gas is a viable solution that provides immediate benefits and as such this station will mitigate greenhouse-gas emissions in the Chicago area,” added Lindholm.

Clean Energy is already investing in the production of RNG with two European partners, TotalEnergies of France and BP of the UK, at dairies throughout the Midwest.

“The RNG produced at these dairies and others around the country will flow into the Romeoville station and Clean Energy’s nationwide fuelling infrastructure,” said the company, based in Newport Beach, California.

Acreage

Clean Energy said that the Romeoville station spans 8.2 acres and includes multiple public access fast-fill dispensers for easy in-and-out fuelling of RNG.

It has time-fill posts for up to 152 trucks, allowing for cost-effective fuelling and the most advanced technology transmitting real-time data to customers. It also has 153 parking places for personal vehicles.

“This multi-million-dollar station gives the thousands of heavy-duty trucking fleets that operate throughout the busy Chicago area the ability to fuel with a clean, renewable and sustainable fuel,” said Romeoville Mayor John Noak.

“We’re pleased that fleets that operate in Romeoville will now have the option to use RNG fuel,” he added.

Located at 300 Southcreek Parkway, the Romeoville station is part of an agreement between Clean Energy and Amazon for Clean Energy to build 19 stations nationwide.

The station initially will fuel more than 100 Amazon trucks and is designed with sufficient fuelling capacity to accommodate several hundred more trucks. 

Clean Energy Fuels Corp., the California-based supplier of liquefied natural gas made from waste and with 540 filling stations across the US and Canada, is expanding its production and supplies of transportation fuel to trucking fleets, city buses and refuse trucks across America.

Kinetrex Energy, a company acquired by US pipeline giant and LNG stakeholder Kinder Morgan Inc., has started the construction of three renewable natural gas production facilities to make RNG from waste in the state of Indiana.

The three sites are located at the Twin Bridges Landfill in Danville, the Prairie View Landfill in Wyatt and the Liberty Landfill in Monticello.

Upon completion, they are expected to produce a total of 3.5 billion cubic feet each year of RNG, derived from sources such as organic waste in landfills, wastewater treatment plants and agricultural operations.

By capturing methane produced from the decomposition of organic waste, the RNG production process also reduces or eliminates greenhouse gas emissions.

Kinder Morgan said commercial operations are expected to begin in the fall of 2022, pending required permits and certifications.

The Kinder Morgan Kinetrex unit expects to invest $146 million to construct the RNG facilities, which it will operate to process gas purchased from Wabash Valley Power Alliance (WVPA) Waste Management, owner of the landfills.

WVPA is a not-for-profit electric generation and transmission cooperative based in Indianapolis.

The G&T provides wholesale electricity to 23 retail electric distribution cooperatives in Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.

Collectively, these cooperatives supply electricity to more than 321,000 homes, schools, farms and businesses.

Kinetrex, also based in Indianapolis and which was an affiliate of the Parallel 49 equity fund before being acquired by Kinder Morgan in July 2021, also has an interest in the largest RNG facility in Indiana.

“Once operational next year, total annual RNG production from the for sites is estimated to be over four billion cubic feet,” said KMI.

Assets growth

Houston, Texas-based KMI, which owns an interest in or operates 83,000 miles of US pipelines carrying natural gas oil and other products and 144 terminals, is now participating in what will be a small but very “green” part of its business.

KMI’s US pipeline and storage assets are spread throughout the US and the company is a key supplier of LNG feed gas to exporters of clean energy to Asia as well as being a main stakeholder in the Elba Island LNG export plant in Georgia.

KMI’s Indiana RNG will be sold pursuant to long-term contracts to Kinetrex’s vehicle transportation customers located throughout the eastern half of the US.

“We are pleased to join WVPA, which has a long history in the landfill gas space, on this initiative to bring additional renewable fuels and low-carbon solutions to the marketplace,” said Aaron Johnson, KMI President of Renewable Natural Gas.

“We expect these facilities will produce renewable fuels that will ultimately replace approximately 28 million gallons of traditional diesel each year, lowering GHG emissions by about 280,000 tons,” added Johnson.

“The opportunity to work with Kinetrex has truly created a win-win for our membership,” said WVP Alliance Executive Vice President of Engineering and Operations Brian Fitzgerald.

“As a result of this project, Kinetrex becomes a cooperative member and WVPA’s involvement affords the production of alternative energy resources that will benefit our environment,” added Fitzgerald.