Compressed Natural Gas Fueling
in Bloomfield for Public, CNG-powered Taxi Fleet
Opening Will Feature New CNG-powered Wheelchair-friendly Taxis
BLOOMFIELD, CT—(DECEMBER 9, 2011) A ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2:00 p.m. today at The Yellow Cab Company’s Bloomfield headquarters will celebrate Hartford County’s first public access compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station, built and operated by Clean Energy. On hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony will be Congressman John Larson; Senator Richard Blumenthal; Bloomfield Mayor Sydney Sheldon; CT House Majority Leader Brendan Sharkey; Tony Guererra, Connecticut House Representative and Co-Chair of the Transportation Committee; Mike Scarpino, Clean Cities Regional Manager, U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory; and Connecticut Clean Cities Future Fuels Project (CTCCFF) visionaries including The Yellow Cab Company and Clean Energy.
“As the company celebrates its 90th anniversary of the first taxi license granted in the State of Connecticut, we are re-positioning our legacy to lead Connecticut’s clean energy solution in the transportation sector,” according to company president Marco Henry. An award-winning, innovative leader in the taxi business, The Yellow Cab Company’s Henry pioneered green taxi fleet technology in 1998. He was the first taxi fleet owner in the nation to convert Honda Civics to CNG through a federal/DOE Clean Cities grant.
As Henry celebrates a 20-year milestone as the company’s president, he looks to the future with promise. In addition to the CNG Honda Civics and CNG Ford Transit Connects he welcomes to his service fleet, Henry will soon provide Greater Hartford’s first wheelchair-accessible taxi rides. The company will debut a fleet of purpose- built, wheelchair- friendly, ADA compliant, low emission taxis known as the “MV-1” ready to serve the Disability Community.
“Universally accessible 24-hour, on-demand, alternative fuel transport can and should play a strategic role in building the transportation infrastructure of Connecticut. Our CNG-powered taxis will reduce overhead fuel costs, significantly lessen harmful emissions for the environment and reduce our overall dependency on foreign oil,” Henry added.
The new fuel station will serve anyone in the public operating a CNG vehicle. By year’s end, The Yellow Cab Company will deploy 110 new CNG taxis as part of this ambitious project.
“As the price of gasoline continues to hover above $3 per gallon throughout our state, I want to congratulate Yellow Cab for their progressive decision to embrace natural gas as an alternative fuel for their fleet,” Congressman Larson said. “Natural gas is affordable, abundant and American and could hold the key to breaking our dependence on foreign oil. I am very excited to see another fueling station open up in our state and look forward to more companies following the lead of Yellow Cab and taking a serious look at natural gas in the future.”
“By 2012 the Yellow Cab CNG fleet is expected to displace about a half-million gallons of gasoline per year, and the environmental gains will only go up from there,” according to Lee Grannis Coordinator of the Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition and recipient of the USDOE grant. That equates to about 10 million pounds of Carbon Dioxide, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, replacing 110 gasoline taxicabs with new clean-burning CNG cabs will remove more than 2,500 tons of greenhouse gases annually.
Clean Energy built the new station at The Yellow Cab Company‘s fleet facility at 86 Granby Road in Bloomfield as part of the Connecticut Clean Cities Future Fuels Project (CTCCFF). The station is the second of three to be opened in the state by Clean Energy as part of the statewide initiative.
“Marco Henry and Yellow Cab have a long standing history of commitment to operating CNG fleets and they are dedicated to the expansion of alternative fuels in fleet services. We are pleased to be partnered with them as they once again make history,” said Andrew J. Littlefair, president and CEO of Clean Energy. “Adopting natural gas fuel for public taxi use, together with the deployment of new ADA-compliant CNG taxi vehicles, and making the infrastructure available to all vehicle and fleet operators spotlights Bloomfield as a hub for a new energy future in Connecticut.”
“We commend Marco Henry for his dedication and support in his continued efforts to reduce imported oil and helping clean the air with a commitment of over 100 natural gas taxi cabs serving the public in the Greater Hartford area,” said Craig Peters, Coordinator of Capitol Clean Cities. The Yellow Cab Company has been a stakeholder with Capitol Clean Cities of Connecticut since 1998.
A public/private partnership, the CTCCFF is a coalition of forces and resources, featuring all four Connecticut Clean Cities Coalitions working together under nearly $13.2 million of funding from a U. S. Department of Energy Grant, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Project partners are providing over $16 million in non-federal cost share to the project. The Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition, Inc. (GNHCCC), together with more than 30 partner organizations initiated, organized and is managing the building of a state-wide system that will eventually get 269 alternative fuels vehicles on the State’s roads through incremental funding and providing fueling capability for 21 additional fleet vehicles and the supporting infrastructure for vehicle deployments as part of the CTCCFF.
For more information on the Connecticut Clean Cities Future Fuels Project, contact Carla R. York, 423-802-6190 or visit www.ct-futurefuels.com
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About The Yellow Cab Company: The Yellow Cab Company headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut has historic significance in Connecticut’s transportation history. The Yellow Cab Company is Connecticut’s oldest taxi company established in 1898. The company received the first taxi license ever issued in 1921. In 2011, the company celebrates the 90th Anniversary of the first taxi license ever issued.
In 1998, The Yellow Cab Company, put 85 CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicles on the road as part of the very first partnership between private enterprise and the US government on a clean energy project for taxi transportation. On May 25, 1999, the company received a National “Clean City Award” along with recognition from the Department of Energy. On October 21, 2010 President Marco Henry was presented with the Connecticut Clean Cities GREEN FLEET AWARD on behalf of the Connecticut Clean Cities Coalitions recognizing his partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy to deploy a predominantly ADA compliant taxi fleet powered by clean compressed natural gas. .
Connecticut has a long history of pioneering efforts, being first to initiate programs and showcase ingenuity that then ignites the passions of followers across the country. “The momentum of green initiatives and alternative fueling solutions for our transportation needs is ever increasing as we recognize the need to become less dependent on foreign oil. The Yellow Cab Company taxi initiative is a role model for taxi fleet owners across the country,” according to company president, Marco Henry. For more information, please visit: www.theyellowcab.com.
Clean Energy (Nasdaq: CLNE) is the largest provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America and a global leader in the expanding natural gas vehicle market. It has operations in CNG and LNG vehicle fueling, construction and operation of CNG and LNG fueling stations, biomethane production, vehicle conversion and compressor technology. For more information, visit www.cleanenergyfuels.com
Clean Energy Forward Looking Statement
This news release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors. The forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date of this release and, unless otherwise required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Additionally, reports and other documents the company files with the SEC (available at www.sec.gov) contain risk factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this newsletter.
Contact – Clean Energy
Bruce Russell, 310/559-4955 x101brussell@cleanenergyfuels.com
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