Megan Greenwalt, Freelance writer

June 3, 2016

3 Min Read
Clean Energy Fuels Agreements Impact Hawaii Gas, Solid Waste Companies

Clean Energy Fuels has secured a contract to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Hawaii Gas, the State of Hawaii’s gas utility, in addition to several agreements with solid waste entities.

“Hawaii Gas has been serving the state for over a hundred years and is committed to providing our customers with quality and reliable gas service,” Thomas Young, Hawaii Gas’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. “With Clean Energy LNG, we will be able to diversify our gas supply using a clean fuel improving our reliability and maintaining the quality of service our customers know us for.”

According to Nathan Nelson, vice president, general counsel and secretary for Honolulu-based Hawaii Gas, the commercial terms of the contract with Clean Energy, including contract length and volume, is proprietary and confidential.

“We anticipate regular shipments to Hawaii that will ensure an ample supply of LNG that provides better fuel diversity and secure service to our customers,” he says.

According to Clean Energy’s website, LNG is methane cryogenically cooled to a liquid form, reducing its volume for storage and transport.

“Some of the LNG provided by Clean Energy is renewable and thus from a waste source,” says Jason Johnston, spokesperson for Clean Energy Fuels. “Not all of our LNG is from a waste source.”

The LNG supplied by Clean Energy will be used to convert up to 30 percent of Hawaii Gas’s SNG production that is currently taking place on the island.

“This conversion will provide greater reliability for our customers on Oahu and improve the overall security of our gas supply,” says Nelson. “Diversifying our fuel supply is critical in order to provide reliable service for the 28,000 utility pipeline customers on Oahu, especially given the uncertainties in the refinery market. To further diversify through renewable energy, Hawaii Gas is also evaluating responses to its RFP for renewable natural gas that was released in January.”

Clean Energy has also signed additional agreements throughout the United States:

  • Phoenix-based Republic Services will be switching its California based fleet to Redeem™ Renewable Natural Gas. The agreement calls for as much as 300,000 GGEs per year and will fuel close to 230 refuse trucks throughout the state. According to Clean Energy’s website, Redeem is biomethane, a renewable natural gas made entirely from organic waste. It is available for distribution as either CNG or LNG.

  • Republic Services also announced the opening of a station designed and built by Clean Energy in Wilsonville, Ore., to support the addition of 16 CNG solid waste collection trucks to its fleet serving customers throughout the greater Portland area. The CNG trucks replace older diesel-powered trucks, and bring the total number of natural gas vehicles operated by Republic Services in Oregon to 35.

  • Peoria Disposal Company has extended a five year agreement with Clean Energy for the operation and maintenance of its station located in Peoria, Ill., which represents approximately 230,000 GGEs per year. Clean Energy designed and built the station for PDC, which provides hazardous waste disposal to clients in 11 states throughout the Midwest.

About the Author(s)

Megan Greenwalt

Freelance writer, Waste360

Megan Greenwalt is a freelance writer based in Youngstown, Ohio, covering collection & transfer and technology for Waste360. She also is the marketing and communications advisor for a property preservation company in Valley View, Ohio, and a member of the Public Relations Society of America. Prior to her current roles, Greenwalt served as the associate editor of Waste & Recycling News for three years and as features editor for a local newspaper in Warren, Ohio, for more than five years. Greenwalt is a 2002 graduate of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism.

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