April 6, 20214 min readEmergency Road Service, Membership

AAA Mid-Atlantic’s First CNG Fueling Station is Complete ​

AAA Philadelphia Fleet Depot utilizing its first compressed natural gas (CNG) station, fueling medium roadside assistance vehicles in Philadelphia

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PHILADELPHIA, PA (April 6, 2021) AAA Mid-Atlantic, in partnership with Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), Air & Gas Technologies and the Eastern Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Transportation (EPACT), announce the completion of a time-fill CNG (compressed natural gas) fueling station located at their Philadelphia, PA Fleet Depot. The station handles AAA Mid-Atlantic’s 23 CNG battery trucks via 12 time-fill hoses and is the first station of its kind in AAA Club Alliance’s territory.

“We have been committed to employing alternative fuels to both control costs and protect the environment,” said Mike Matijkiw, Fleet Business Manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “The new CNG station helps us take advantage of several programs that reduce our operational costs and support our continued investment in alternative fuels.”

Thanks in part to the funding support of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant program and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Alternative Clean Energy program, AAA completed the construction of the company’s first CNG station for their Philadelphia Fleet Depot this January.  Funding from these programs drove down the capital costs for the station by 50%.  Utility incentives from PGW further supported the project, making it cash flow positive from day one.

“PGW is proud to partner with AAA to expand the availability of compressed natural gas and contribute to the environmental health of the city and region,” said Florian Teme, Vice President of Marketing at PGW.  “Using CNG rather than gasoline or diesel helps to reduce carbon emissions and is a more economical fueling source, which will be beneficial to AAA and its membership.”

Designed and developed by Air and Gas Technologies, the station has a daily capacity of 450 gasoline gallon equivalents (GGE) to supports AAA’s CNG fleet today and into the future. . The CNG station compresses natural gas on-site, allowing AAA to fill up on CNG while the vehicles are parked overnight.

“AAA is a great leader and partner to the Philadelphia community”, said Vince Tomasso, President of Air & Gas Technologies, “We commend them on their continued investment into alternative fuels.”

Having access to fueling on site has eased range anxiety and saved time that was formerly spent driving to the public CNG station at the airport, a few miles down the road. Other Philadelphia fleets that have made an investment into CNG include the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Airport and Temple University.  PGW also has its own fleet of CNG Honda Civics.

Another first this station brings to the city is the company’s use of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). RNG is methane that has be captured from an emitting source, like a landfill, and put to productive use – in this case as a transportation fuel.  Filling the company’s 23 CNG trucks with RNG offsets AAA’s carbon footprint by over 300 tons of CO2 per year over fossil natural gas, supporting Philadelphia’s 80x50 goals and promoting clean air in the communities they serve. RNG for this project was sourced domestically by Renewable Connections.

AAA Mid-Atlantic is a long-standing member of the Eastern Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Transportation – a Department of Energy designated Clean Cities Coalition tasked with helping fleets convert to cleaner fuels.  Through interactions with the coalition, the company worked with fellow members PGW and Air and Gas Technologies to identify grant funding for the station.

AAA provides automotive, travel and insurance services to 60 million members nationwide and more than 3.2 million members in Pennsylvania.  AAA advocates for the safety and mobility of its members and has been committed to outstanding road service for more than 100 years.  The not-for-profit, fully tax-paying member organization works on behalf of motorists, who can now map a route, find local gas prices, discover discounts, book a hotel and track their roadside assistance service with the AAA Mobile appss for iPhone, iPad and Android.  For more information, visit www.AAA.com.

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