Dive Brief:
- Longwood, FL-based Waste Pro USA has awarded Clean Energy Fuels a contract to design and build two Florida compressed natural gas (CNG) stations: one in Sanford to fuel 90 vehicles and another in Sarasota to fuel 30 vehicles. This contract will add to five existing Florida stations.
- Clean Energy, which operates most of Waste Pro's CNG stations, will also expand the company's existing Pompano, FL station from a capacity of 30 vehicles to 50.
- The company will take over operations of all of Waste Pro's stations this year, with existing stations now spread over Ft. Pierce, Palm Coast, Daytona, Jacksonville, and Pompano.
Dive Insight:
With 230 combined municipal contracts and franchises in nine southeastern states, Waste Pro is on a trajectory for growth and that includes continued expansion of CNG infrastructure through its partnership with Clean Energy. Since 2012 when Waste Pro announced it was investing $100 million to transition from diesel fuel to CNG, the company has focused more on this cleaner technology to save money and improve productivity and efficiency. These transactions are in line with its other energy- and money-saving practices such as its large-scale investment in solar power.
"This move will dramatically reduce emissions in our operating footprint and potentially provide fueling stations for the cities and counties we serve," said Waste Pro USA President and CEO John J. Jennings in a press release.
Republic Services, Waste Management, Inland Waste, and Progressive Waste Solutions (which recently announced a merge with Waste Connections) are among other industry players that have gotten on board with CNG. And now a new tax credit has provided impetus that some industry experts say will bring more trash pros into CNG, investing in their own fleets and, for many, investing in infrastructure.
