Olivia Woods
Canada’s biggest natural gas firm is collaborating with a Californian clean energy corporation to build and manage a system of compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling sites to assist heavy-duty trucks in transitioning away from diesel fuel.
Calgary’s Tourmaline Oil Corp., announced it on Tuesday, alongside the American company, Clean Energy Fuels Corp., which is the largest supplier in the US of low-carbon fuels for transportation.
Each company plans to invest up to $20 in compressed natural gas filling stations over the next five years, for a total of $70 million. Clean Energy filling stations will be stocked with Tourmaline’s natural gas to encourage environmentally responsible practices among transportation companies.
“There are plenty of trucking fleets that have shown interest already, so we’re feeling really good about our plan,” said Clean Energy Fuels CEO Andrew Littlefair.
“Most of the customer-facing truck haulers . . . their customers want them to be sustainable.”
Although it is still a fossil fuel, natural gas is more environmentally friendly than diesel since it produces 20% less carbon dioxide. If diesel-powered trucks were all replaced by trucks running on CNG, it would be the same as removing as many as five cars from the road.
The long-haul trucking sector is exploring ways to reduce its environmental impact, such as the use of renewable natural gas (RNG). In the US, Clean Energy has set up 590 fueling stations for heavy vehicles like buses and trucks, which use RNG. About 25,000 of these large vehicles are currently utilizing the network.
Unlike fossil fuels, RNG is produced from biodegradable materials. Littlefair estimates that carbon emissions may be cut by about 300 percent simply by replacing diesel with RNG.
In Canada, there is still a minimal supply of RNG, but the necessary fuelling stations are similar to those for CNG, making it useful to be added when it becomes available.
Meanwhile, there is a large supply of cheap, easily accessible natural gas.
“We have to reduce emissions now. It’s not about what we can do three decades from now,” stated Mike Rose, CEO of Tourmaline. “Natural gas is here now.”
The companies announced that the first station established under the agreement has been set up in the north of Edmonton is already in use, and further stations should be established in Calgary, Grande Prairie, Alberta and Kamloops, British Columbia by the end of 2024.
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