The Centre Area Transportation Authority was a pioneer among public transit systems when in 2005 it became the first on the East Coast to fuel its entire fleet with compressed natural gas. Now 20 years later, its making a change that will further reduce its carbon emissions.
CATA on Thursday announced a new partnership with UGI Energy Services to use renewable natural gas to fuel its 60 buses and six service vehicles. The agreement was celebrated at CATA’s Ferguson Township headquarters, where officials from the two organizations were joined by Centre County state and federal representatives.
Transitioning to RNG is expected to eliminate 3,089 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, a 99.5% reduction.
“With this agreement with UGI Energy Services, we take another step forward in our ongoing commitment to a clean natural gas program, with renewable natural gas to fuel our fleet,” CATA CEO Todd Horsley said.
RNG is an alternative fuel created by capturing methane emissions from decomposing organic materials at landfills, farms and processing plants that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. They are then processed, conditioned and cleaned to meet gas quality requirements.
The resulting RNG is interchangeable with pipeline natural gas and is used to fuel homes businesses, and compressed for transportation fuel.
“We are proud to partner with CATA to provide RNG to fuel their transportation fleet and achieve environmental benefits,” UGI Energy Services President Joe Hartz said. “This project marks a milestone for UGI Energy Services as we are proud to help CATA and the surrounding communities in the State College area reduce emissions while lowering their carbon footprint.”
According to UGI, CATA is projected to achieve the equivalent of removing 670 gas cars from the road each year and eliminate the annual electricity consumption of 620 average households.
“As demand for American energy continues to grow, fueling public transit with low-cost, abundant and clean burning natural gas is a win for the traveling public and the taxpayer,” U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Howard Township, said. “RNG also benefits American farmers by turning agriculture waste into revenue, cutting emissions and strengthening rural economies. UGIES and CATA stand at the forefront of this effort, and I applaud both organizations for their innovative approach.”
CATA joins the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority as a local public agency utilizing RNG. CCRRA’s on-site RNG station is used to fuel its vehicles as well as other fleets.
