Scott Vazzana and Peter Grace, from Clean Energy Fuels, with Kelly Gilbert and Angela Song, from Kansas City Regional Clean Cities, celebrate KCATA's new CNG station
On August 27, 2014, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) officially opened the all-new “Fast Fill” compressed natural gas fueling station for KCATA’s CNG fleet and support vehicles.
The CNG fueling station is the largest fast-fill station in Missouri and the Kansas City region. The station allows buses to be fueled in less than seven minutes, and will enable KCATA to fill more than 200 buses nightly. The agency currently has 17 CNG buses in its fleet with eight more arriving next month. Over the next 12 years, new CNG buses will be phased in as current diesel buses are retired.
The move from diesel to CNG fuel is expected to save up to $500,000 in fuel in 2015, and up to $4,000,000 per year once the fleet is fully converted over the next dozen years.
“The move from diesel fuel to CNG will result in cleaner air, and significant cost savings,” said Dick Jarrold, KCATA vice president of regional planning & development.
The station cost $3.2 million to build; eighty percent of the cost was provided by the federal Urbanized Area Formula Grant Program.
Clean Energy Corporation is a leading provider of natural gas for transportation and will be responsible for the monitoring and maintenance of the fueling station. Missouri Gas Energy/Laclede Gas Company is another important partner who agreed to install the gas main extension nearly a half mile to KCATA’s facility.