NGVs on display outside the State Legislature in Victoria BC
British Columbia (BC) natural gas and electricity utility FortisBC, in collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER), Westport Innovations, Cummins Westport, Vedder Transport, and Waste Management, headed to the B.C. Legislature in Victoria in November to showcase a variety of natural gas vehicles. The vehicles, parked at the front steps of the legislature and accompanied by a number of experts, stimulated much interest from government officials including Hon. Terry Lake, Minister of Environment, Hon. Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Transportation, Hon. Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation and several Members of the Legislative Assembly.
The purpose of the event was to raise the profile of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in BC – a “show and tell” focusing on NGVs that are already in operation on a daily basis around the province. Several vehicles, including Freightliner, Peterbilt and Autocar models and a school bus, were available for close inspection. These NGVs represented 83 new HD vehicles added to the BC fleet, displacing over 5 million litres of diesel consumption.
The event also served to showcase the progress FortisBC has made in developing the heavy duty liquified natural gas (LNG) market in BC. Mr Lekstrom (Transportation) commented at the time, “I believe liquefied natural gas will be the transportation fuel of the future.”
Continued development of the HD market in BC is expected with a goal of adding 1500 more HD vehicles to the BC marketplace over the next 5 years. That goal will be aided by a recently adopted business development plan for the province which includes a commitment to promote and support the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel, for both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG).
(This article compiled using information supplied by FortisBC)
