Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq: CLNE), North America’s leading
supplier of natural gas fuel for transportation, hosted a ceremony
today to mark the opening of two public access compressed natural
gas (CNG) fueling stations in Chicago. Part of a planned
Chicagoland network, the new natural gas stations will support
growing fleets of taxis, paratransit vehicles, service vans, refuse
trucks and shuttle buses powered by clean, green, domestic natural
gas.
Yellow Cab Driver Dominique Camara visits
a new Downtown Chicago Clean Energy compressed natural gas (CNG)
station to "fuel up" his CNG Ford Transit Connect taxicab. He said,
"I'm excited to drive the CNG Transit Connect. All of the customers
will want to ride in my new vehicle. And it will save me half of my
fuel costs each week!" (Photo: Business Wire)
Chicago’s Taxi Medallion Management (TMM) operates over 800
vehicles in Chicago. They currently have vehicles in both Yellow
and Checker taxi affiliations. Michael Levine, the owner of TMM and
chairman of both Taxi Affiliation Services LLC and American United
Taxi Affiliation, Inc., entered into two 15-year contracts with
Clean Energy to build and operate the two CNG fueling stations, and
supply fuel to the initial TMM CNG fleet of up to 100 vehicles.
Included are Ford Transit Connect and Chevy Impala taxis as well as
MV-1 paratransit vehicles. In addition to serving the TMM fleet,
the stations are open 24/7 for public access.
Located at 540 West Grenshaw Street and 3145 North Western
Avenue, the CNG station sites were selected for their proximity to
downtown Chicago’s business, hotel, shopping and financial
districts.
Government officials and business leaders attended the June 16th
reception and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Clean Energy West
Grenshaw Street station site. Among speakers at the event were T.
Boone Pickens, author of the “Pickens Plan” to enhance US energy
security, and Michael Levine, Owner, TMM.
Mr. Pickens commented, “Our continuing dependence on OPEC oil is
a critical threat to our economy and our national security. The
only way to address that threat is to replace their more expensive,
dirtier diesel/gasoline with cleaner and cheaper domestic fuels.
There are several options, and domestic natural gas is one of them.
If we don’t start using our abundant domestic supplies of natural
gas for transportation, we are going to go down as the dumbest
generation ever.”
TMM’s Levine said, “Taxi Medallion Management has always been
committed to providing the best possible service to our drivers and
to the community at large in Chicago. To that end we have updated
our fleet of vehicles, we have added the latest technology to
enhance the taxicab rider’s experience, and now we are taking the
next step in metropolitan taxicab evolution, the deployment of
alternative fuel vehicles. Our new CNG-powered fleet will
drastically reduce the impact of rising fuel prices on our drivers.
It will benefit the city by reducing carbon emissions, and it will
help begin the process of reducing our nation’s dependency on
foreign fuel sources.”
Supporting the local deployment of alternative-fueled cabs, the
City of Chicago’s Department of Environment has implemented a Green
Taxi program, which reimburses taxi companies that purchase
vehicles powered by alternative fuels or hybrid vehicles. Chicago
cab companies receive from $9,000 to $14,000 for purchasing a CNG
car, and $2,000 for purchasing a hybrid car. The program operates
on a first-come, first-serve basis and continues until December 31,
2011.
Delivering considerable fuel savings, often over $1.50 per
gallon equivalent when compared to diesel or gasoline based on
current market conditions, CNG fuel also produces up to 30% lower
greenhouse gas emissions in light-duty vehicles and 23% percent
lower emissions in medium to heavy-duty vehicle applications. U.S.
Department of Energy reports estimate that 98% of the natural gas
consumed in the U.S. is sourced in the U.S. and Canada.
About Clean Energy Fuels — Clean Energy (Nasdaq: CLNE) is
the largest provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in
North America and a global leader in the expanding natural gas
vehicle market. It has operations in CNG and LNG (liquefied natural
gas) vehicle fueling, construction and operation of CNG and LNG
fueling stations, biomethane production, vehicle conversion and
compressor technology.
Clean Energy fuels over 22,700 vehicles at 238 strategic
locations across the United States and Canada with a broad customer
base in the refuse, transit, trucking, shuttle, taxi, airport and
municipal fleet markets. Clean Energy del Peru, a joint venture,
fuels vehicles at two stations and provides CNG to commercial
customers in Peru. We own (70%) and operate a landfill gas facility
in Dallas, Texas, that produces renewable natural gas, or
biomethane, for delivery in the nation’s gas pipeline network. We
have agreed to build a second facility in Michigan. We own and
operate LNG production plants in Willis, Texas, and Boron, Calif.,
with combined capacity of 260,000 LNG gallons per day and that are
designed to expand to 340,000 LNG gallons per day as demand
increases. NorthStar, a wholly owned subsidiary, is the recognized
leader in LNG/LCNG (liquefied to compressed natural gas) fueling
system technologies and station construction and operations. BAF
Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, is a leading
provider of natural gas vehicle systems and conversions for taxis,
vans, pick-up trucks and shuttle buses. IMW Industries, Ltd., a
wholly owned subsidiary based in Canada, is a leading supplier of
compressed natural gas equipment for vehicle fueling and industrial
applications with more than 1,200 installations in 24 countries.
www.cleanenergyfuels.com
Forward-Looking Statements — This news release contains
forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions,
including statements about the increase of natural gas-powered
vehicles in the Chicago area and the potential impact of replacing
diesel and gasoline with natural gas on the environment and the
nation’s economy and security. Actual results and the timing of
events could differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements as a result of several factors,
including the rate of CNG vehicle procurement and deployment, the
price per gallon of natural gas relative to diesel and gasoline,
the performance, availability and price of natural gas vehicles
relative to gasoline and diesel vehicles, and continuously changing
political conditions. The forward-looking statements made herein
speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless
otherwise required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to
publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect
subsequent events or circumstances.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6762598&lang=en
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