CHICAGO -- Compressed natural gas (CNG) will appear at two convenience-store chains in the next year.
First up, Family Express, which has nearly 70 sites in Indiana. The Valparaiso, Ind.-based chain is finalizing plans to add CNG to its Portage, Ind., c-store on Route 249 and AmeriPlex Drive, according to the Northwest Indiana Times.
The site will serve the city of Portage, which is planning to purchase CNG-powered garbage trucks because of their lower fumes and quieter operation. According to Mayor James Snyder, the city had previously avoided CNG-powered vehicles because of a lack of fueling locations.
The new station is set to be built in 2017. Family Express received a $435,000 matching grant from the Federal Highway Administration, supplied through the Indiana Department of Transportation and the city of Portage, to help pay for the CNG fueling site. South Shore Clean Cities also partnered on the effort.
Meanwhile, EZ Go Stores, a Lawton, Okla.-based chain with stores in Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, has partnered with Oklahoma City-based Sparq Natural Gas, a provider of CNG infrastructure development services, on a CNG fueling site in Lawton. The team broke ground on the location this November.
According to NGT News, the station will be located at the city of Lawton’s public works facility, and feature a “behind-the-fence,” slow-fill fueling option for the municipal garbage trucks, as well as a fast-fill option for the public. EZ Go has two additional CNG sites in McAlester and Stroud, Okla.
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