LAX OPENS NATURAL GAS FUEL STATION
LAX Station Fuels Expanding Fleet of Alternative-Fuel Vehicles
(Los Angeles, California -- April 27, 2001) Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) raised the bar yet again in its effort to set the standard for airport environmental leadership when a liquefied natural gas/compressed natural gas (LNG/CNG) fuel station became operational this week at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
The station is located at 7350 World Way West and is open 24 hours per day for self-service operation.
The station is needed to fuel LAWA's fleet of natural gas vehicles, including over 250 vehicles powered by compressed natural gas. Among these alternative-fuel vehicles are 55 LNG shuttle buses used to transport passengers within the airport and from remote parking lots to the terminals. LAWA's fleet of nearly 300 alternative-fuel vehicles represents 40 percent of its fleet and also includes equipment powered by electricity, propane, and solar power.
The new station – which replaces an interim station operating since 1997 – has a 22,000-gallon LNG capacity and continuous CNG dispensing capability. It is part of the airport’s complete alternative-fuel infrastructure, which also includes 32 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations available for public use within the LAX Central Terminal Area.
"We’re on target for our clean air goals for the 21st Century," said Roger Johnson, LAWA deputy executive director for environmental affairs. One of LAWA’s crucial goals for supporting the environment is to convert half of its fleet to clean-burning vehicles by 2003, and 100 percent of the fleet by 2015.
Vehicles that burn LNG and CNG are both up to 97 percent cleaner than vehicles using conventional fuels such as gasoline or diesel.
The $860,000 station upgrade added LNG storage and dispensing capability, as well as CNG capabilities that contain a fueling island. Upland, California-based Allsup Corporation supplied and installed the equipment upgrades, while the LAWA Construction & Maintenance Division managed the construction process and performed much of the work to complete the project.
LAWA has won awards and recognition from numerous groups for its clean-air efforts. The most recent was the "Environmental Achievement Award 2000" bestowed by the Airports Council International-North America, which represents more than 400 state and local entities that own and operate airports. This award was given for LAWA’s alternative fuels program, its co-generation system – which saves energy by simultaneously generating electrical power and steam – and vehicle trip reduction measures such as remote parking and "smart," or high-technology, parking systems within the airports.
These and other energy-minded programs enacted by LAWA have also garnered awards from the Coalition for Clean Air, U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program, and the California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition.
Los Angeles World Airports is a self-supporting department of the City of Los Angeles, which owns and operates a world-class system of four airports: Los Angeles International, Ontario International, Palmdale Regional, and Van Nuys. LAWA's combined airports move 74 million passengers and 2.7 million tons of cargo annually; employs, directly and indirectly, more than 410,000 people; and pumps nearly $70 billion into the Southern California economy. Additional information about LAWA is available at www.lawa.org.
(NSC - 4/27/01)
