SEAL BEACH, Calif., Oct 29, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Clean Energy Fuels Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!clne/quotes/nls/clne (CLNE 14.33, -0.01, -0.07%) has secured a new 10-year contract from the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (METRO) to operate CNG facilities that fuel METRO CNG buses deployed in the agency's Downtown Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley, South Bay and Westside Divisions.
Clean Energy will have sole responsibility to operate and maintain all 10 of METRO's CNG facilities that supply the METRO fleet with 40 million gallons of CNG fuel annually when the transition is complete.
Earlier this year METRO awarded three other station contracts to Clean Energy, which affected six of METRO's CNG fueling facilities located throughout the agency's 1,433-square mile service area.
"METRO currently deploys America's largest CNG-powered clean air transit bus fleet," said Andrew J. Littlefair, Clean Energy's President and CEO. "METRO's 2,500 CNG buses comprise 95% of its overall transit bus fleet. We are honored by the opportunity METRO has given Clean Energy to assume overall responsibility for supporting their entire CNG bus fleet. They are the clear leader today among U.S. transit operators that are taking accelerated action to operate bus fleets on clean-burning, cost-effective CNG power."
According to the California Energy Commission, natural gas-powered transit buses reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 23% compared to conventional diesel-powered models. Natural gas fuel costs significantly less, on average, than diesel fuel.
METRO deploys buses on 191 fixed routes with nearly 16,000 bus stops in Greater Los Angeles County. More than 9.6 million people -- nearly one-third of California's residents -- live and work in L.A. County. In fiscal year 2010, passenger boardings of METRO buses totaled more than 366 million.
Clean Energy /quotes/comstock/15*!clne/quotes/nls/clne (CLNE 14.33, -0.01, -0.07%) 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 vehicle fueling, construction and operation of CNG and LNG fueling stations, biomethane production, vehicle conversion and compressor technology.
Clean Energy fuels over 18,300 vehicles at more than 200 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. It owns and operates a landfill gas facility in Dallas, Texas, that produces renewable methane gas, or biomethane, for delivery in the nation's gas pipeline network. It owns and operates 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. BAF Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, is a leading provider of natural gas vehicle systems and conversions for taxis, limousines, 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 1,000 installations in over 20 countries. (www.cleanenergyfuels.com)
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