PHILADELPHIA, PA (April 6, 2021) AAA Mid-Atlantic, in partnership with Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), Air & Gas Technologies and the Eastern Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Transportation (EPACT), announce the completion of a time-fill CNG (compressed natural gas) fueling station located at their Philadelphia, PA Fleet Depot. The station handles AAA Mid-Atlantic’s 23 CNG battery trucks via 12 time-fill hoses and is the first station of its kind in AAA Club Alliance’s territory.
“We have been committed to employing alternative fuels to both control costs and protect the environment,” said Mike Matijkiw, Fleet Business Manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “The new CNG station helps us take advantage of several programs that reduce our operational costs and support our continued investment in alternative fuels.”
Thanks in part to the funding support of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant program and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Alternative Clean Energy program, AAA completed the construction of the company’s first CNG station for their Philadelphia Fleet Depot this January. Funding from these programs drove down the capital costs for the station by 50%. Utility incentives from PGW further supported the project, making it cash flow positive from day one.
“PGW is proud to partner with AAA to expand the availability of compressed natural gas and contribute to the environmental health of the city and region,” said Florian Teme, Vice President of Marketing at PGW. “Using CNG rather than gasoline or diesel helps to reduce carbon emissions and is a more economical fueling source, which will be beneficial to AAA and its membership.”
Designed and developed by Air and Gas Technologies, the station has a daily capacity of 450 gasoline gallon equivalents (GGE) to supports AAA’s CNG fleet today and into the future. The CNG station compresses natural gas on-site, allowing AAA to fill up on CNG while the vehicles are parked overnight.
“AAA is a great leader and partner to the Philadelphia community”, said Vince Tomasso, President of Air & Gas Technologies, “We commend them on their continued investment into alternative fuels.”
Having access to fueling on site has eased range anxiety and saved time that was formerly spent driving to the public CNG station at the airport, a few miles down the road. Other Philadelphia fleets that have made an investment into CNG include the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Airport and Temple University. PGW also has its own fleet of CNG Honda Civics.
Another first this station brings to the city is the company’s use of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). RNG is methane that has be captured from an emitting source, like a landfill, and put to productive use – in this case as a transportation fuel. Filling the company’s 23 CNG trucks with RNG offsets AAA’s carbon footprint by over 300 tons of CO2 per year over fossil natural gas, supporting Philadelphia’s goal of carbon neutrality by the year 2050 and promoting clean air in the communities they serve. RNG for this project was sourced domestically by Renewable Connections.
AAA Mid-Atlantic is a long-standing member of the Eastern Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Transportation – a Department of Energy designated Clean Cities Coalition tasked with helping fleets convert to cleaner fuels. Through interactions with the coalition, the company worked with fellow members PGW and Air and Gas Technologies to identify grant funding for the station.
