Package delivery giant UPS announced that it is building an additional 15 compressed natural gas fuel stations and adding 1,400 more CNG vehicles over the next year. Twelve of the CNG stations will be in new natural gas vehicle deployment areas, and three will replace existing CNG stations with higher capacity equipment.UPS currently has 5,088 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles in its global fleet. The new vehicles will add to that total.“UPS’s investment in a large scale alternative energy fleet has enabled the company to avoid more than 34 million gals. of conventional fuels since 2000,” said Mitch Nichols, UPS senior vice president of transportation and engineering. “Today’s CNG announcement demonstrates UPS’s plans to expand use of widely available natural gas. CNG is an important building block in our long-term fleet strategy and offers environmental and economic advantages.”UPS said its alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet will log more than 350 million mi. per year following the new additions. This will displace approximately 54 million gallons of conventional diesel and gasoline annually.The new vehicles will operate in 15 cities. They are Atlanta, Ga.; Charleston, W.Va.; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colo.; Doraville, Ga.; Lenexa, Kan.; Lexington, Ky.; Montgomery, Ala.; New Orleans, La.; New Stanton, Pa.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Port Allen, La.; Shreveport, La.; Richmond, Va., and Roanoke, Va. In a separate press announcement, Agility Fuel Systems said UPS has ordered 445 of its 160 DGE behind-the-cab CNG fuel systems for delivery this year. The new order will increase UPS’ fleet of vehicles operating with Agility systems to nearly 1,600 heavy-duty trucks.“As an early adopter, UPS has been a role model for trucking fleets introducing natural gas into their operations. We are proud to have worked with UPS over the last several years to support their natural gas rollout. Today’s announcement is further validation of our technological leadership, innovative and space saving fuel system designs, reliability and industry-leading field support,” said Barry Engle, CEO of Agility Fuel Systems.
