Georgia Looks To CNG For Municipal Vehicles

Posted on October 21, 2011

DeKalb County, Georgia has joined the ever growing number of communities looking for relief from higher gas prices by converting municipal vehicles to compressed natural gas.

DeKalb takes great pride in describing itself as the “Greenest County in America” so the move to the use of cleaner burning CNG vehicles is in keeping with this identity. The county has ordered two dozen CNG Freightliner Business Class trucks which will be used primarily for sanitation and maintenance duties. The trucks are perfectly suited for the three-man sanitation routes that DeKalb uses for collection.

In another example of DeKalb’s commitment to “keeping it green” the fuel for their new trucks will be derived from the county’s own methane-to-energy process which was launched earlier this year. The project converts landfill waste into natural gas. This conversion process produces enough “free” electricity to power more than 2,500 local homes. The process also creates enough natural gas to fuel more than 600 CNG vehicles, more than DeKalb currently has in its fleet, but enough so they can eventually convert even more of their vehicles to CNG without worrying about finding a fuel source.

Freightliner Trucks is a division of Daimler Trucks North America. Daimler AG, a global manufacturer of commercial trucks, is the the parent company of Daimler Trucks North America. In 2007 Daimler launched its worldwide Shaping Future Transportation initiative which focused the company’s priorities on producing vehicles with reduced emissions such as carbon dioxide and offer lower fuel consumption. The one-two punch of reduced emissions and increased fuel economy is the answer many communities around the world are looking for and Daimler wants to corner the market.

The new trucks have a Cummins Westport ISL G 8.9-liter natural gas engine which has no need for a diesel particulate filter or regeneration The engine is also considered mostly maintenance-free and produces almost no emissions. They also offer increased fuel economy, no small feature in today’s economy, with fuel costs rising every year. This coupled with the new DeKalb fuel processing facility means the Atlanta area community will dramatically reduce their fuel expenses, something which will not go unnoticed by tax payers in the district.

The new trucks will refuel at the new DeKalb-based re-fueling station which is the process of being built right now. The new CNG fueling stations will be available to both commercial vehicles and passenger cars. This means that not only will DeKalb have anew fleet of CNG vehicles, but it will also have the means of supplying its own fuel, making trips out of county for fuel obsolete.

The cost of the new trucks is being fully offset by the investment in lower cost fuel production facilities and making fuel use of energy resources within the county. As the core of the five county area which comprises the Atlanta metropolitan area, DeKalb is setting an example for other communities to follow.

DeKalb is just one example of how new ways of thinking are changing the way communities serve their citizens by cutting costs, reducing pollutants and making best use of all available resources.

Interested in converting your fleet to CNG? Give us a call and we’re happy to discuss your options.

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