Clean Energy Fuels has begun supplying renewable natural gas (RNG) from a newly built station for the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority (CCRRA) in Bellefonte, PA.
According to the California-based renewable energy company, the station will provide fuel for CCRRA vehicles as well as other fleets, supporting a transition to a cleaner and low-carbon fuel produced using organic waste.
The station is projected to dispense around 500,000 gallons of RNG annually, reducing carbon emissions by an estimated 3,696 metric tons per year compared with pollution from fossil fuel power, according to the company.
“The recycling and refuse industry has long embraced natural gas to mitigate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Chad Lindholm, senior vice president, Clean Energy. “Our CCRRA station is one of the first on the East Coast to transition to RNG, and will further our sustainability goal of providing RNG at all of our stations by 2025.”
CCRRA has also partnered with the local WM affiliate to provide RNG for eight new CNG tractor-trailer units hauling more than 4,300 loads of waste per year. WM aims to convert all its fleet to RNG from diesel.
“As a refuse and recycling authority, we are constantly promoting the benefits of a circular economy by purchasing products generated from the materials we handle daily,” said CCRRA Executive Director Ted Onufrak. “Migrating to RNG is just another example of how closing the loop can be beneficial economically and environmentally.
Landfills and livestock waste can emit 27 percent of the methane released into the atmosphere annually in the U.S. Methane is considered by environmental scientists to be multiple times more destructive to the climate than even CO2, according to reports.
