24/7 public access compressed natural gas station opens in Kelowna

Sep 30, 2019

FortisBC public access compressed natural gas station opens in Kelowna

KELOWNA, B.C., – Natural gas-powered transportation has a new hub in the province as the first public access compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling station opened today in Kelowna. This station expands the province’s CNG network and will help enable fleet operators to easily travel from the Lower Mainland to the Interior without worrying about refuelling.

“Having fleets adopt natural gas helps the province meet its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals, and improves air quality in the communities in which they operate,” said Sarah Smith, director of NGT, regional LNG and RNG with FortisBC. “By providing fleet owners and operators incentives to adopt natural gas, we’re reinforcing our position as an active partner and leader in reducing GHG emissions in British Columbia (BC) while also reducing costs for our customers.”

Also on the site is the fuelling station for Environmental 360 Solutions Incorporated (E360S) - a waste-hauling organization who picks up residential curbside garbage and delivers it to the Glenmore Landfill, which is one of the many landfills who provide the organic waste that FortisBC uses to produce Renewable Natural Gas. E360S will fuel its fleet of waste haulers from a dedicated fuelling system on site while public access will be available for anyone to use, 24 hours a day.

“E360S is dedicated to becoming North America's most trusted environmental company and we are proud to partner with FortisBC to provide the first public access CNG-fuelling station in this region," said Danny Ardellini, founder and CEO with E360S. “The fuelling station and our Kelowna CNG fleet are statements of our commitment to the environment and to reducing GHG emissions.”

By adopting CNG, E360S will reduce their GHG emissions by approximately 25 per cent each year. This is based on the minimum contracted amount of fuel from the station.

This investment in lower carbon transportation infrastructure is part of a path to meaningful emission reductions outlined in FortisBC’s 30BY30 Target announced last week. Transportation accounts for about 40 per cent of all provincial GHG emissions and, as such, is a targeted opportunity within 30BY30. FortisBC is committed to helping fleet owners and operators across BC adopt natural gas as a transportation fuel so they reduce their emissions as well as cut their fuel costs by up to 50 per cent.

The new station also adds tremendous value to the community and is ideally located to fuel medium to large CNG-fuelled vehicles in the area. This project, also made possible by funding from Natural Resources Canada, is the latest in a series of projects in partnership with the City of Kelowna.

“This is an important investment in Kelowna, one that contributes to our economy while also providing transportation companies with an option to lower carbon emissions,” said Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran. “It’s great to see E360S using this fuel to take garbage to the landfill, where FortisBC converts organic matter into more Renewable Natural Gas.”

Fleet managers in Kelowna who are operating a return-to-base fleet of any size should evaluate the possibility of natural gas as a transportation fuel. For more information, visit: fortisbc.com/est.

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