Food is now arriving at grocery store shelves across the East Coast with a smaller carbon footprint, thanks to the recent purchase by Supervalu Inc of 35 Class 8 Volvo trucks that operate on compressed natural gas (CNG).
The fleet, which operates out of Supervalu’s Mechanicsville VA distribution center and serves approximately 500 grocery stores in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Washington DC, and North Carolina, is the largest private fleet of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic region.
To power the new trucks, Trillium CNG, a provider of compressed natural gas fueling systems, built and will operate a fast-fill CNG station at Supervalu’s Mechanicsville distribution center. Conversion to natural gas will reduce the fleet’s annual oil consumption by more than one million gallons and result in 1,300 fewer tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
The new trucks and fast-fill station were officially unveiled at a recent ceremony attended by Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng, as well as several local and company officials.