USA, California
Greenhouse Gas reductions up to 20%
Californian utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Company continues to walk the talk with their commitment to natural gas vehicles, adding five Class 8 heavy-duty LNG trucks to its alternative fuel fleet. PG&E is the first utility in the US to put the Kenworth T800 LNG-powered trucks into service. The effort is part of the company’s commitment to reduce its environmental footprint and improve California’s air quality. “Natural gas is one of the cleanest alternative fuels available today,” said David Meisel, director of transportation services at PG&E. “The Kenworth LNG-powered trucks will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 to 20 percent over equivalent diesel engines.”
PG&E has a heavy commitment to alternative fuels and purchased the
Class 8 heavy-duty trucks as diesel units, collaborating on the upgrade
to LNG operation with Kenworth and Westport Innovations. The fuel
system developed and manufactured by Westport and called High Pressure
Direct Injection (HPDI), uses a small amount of diesel to ignite the
natural gas in the engine and provides diesel-equivalent torque,
horsepower and a range of 400-450 miles. The result is reduced NOx, PM
and greenhouse gas emissions and less reliance on diesel fuel by
running the cleaner LNG fuel.
Four of the Class 8 LNG trucks will be used for two shifts per day,
representing approximately 800 miles per day per truck. Using LNG will
cut the fuel costs for these trucks by approximately 50 percent. The
fifth LNG truck serves as a customer demonstration truck to educate
PG&E’s large trucking customers about the economic and
environmental benefits of LNG-powered heavy duty trucks.
PG&E operates 36 natural gas fueling stations throughout its
northern and central California service territory, 27 of which are open
to the public. In addition, PG&E utilizes a mobile trailer mounted
system for LNG vehicle fueling (manufactured by Chart Industries).
