Las Vegas Becomes a Leading U.S. City with Infrastructure in Place to Support Expanded Deployment of CNG-Powered Ground Transport Fleets —
Las Vegas, Nevada (June 2, 2011) — Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq: CLNE), North America’s leading supplier of natural gas fuel for transportation, hosted a ceremony today to mark the opening of the company’s new public access CNG fueling station at Las Vegas/McCarran International Airport.
The facility is the seventh local Clean Energy public access CNG fueling station, making Las Vegas among the first cities in America with the fueling station infrastructure in place to support expanded deployment of natural gas vehicle fleets. McCarran Airport is ranked 15th in the world for passenger traffic, with 44 million travelers passing through the terminal each year.
Designed, built and operated by Clean Energy to support CNG taxis, limos and shuttles, among other natural gas vehicles in the area, the station is located at 4990 Paradise Road on property owned by Bell Real Estate LLC. Bell Transportation, an affiliate of Bell Real Estate LLC, will operate a new fleet of CNG ground transport vehicles in the Las Vegas area, initially deploying ten Transit Connect taxis and eight shuttle buses.
Government officials, airport and business leaders attended the June 2 reception and ribbon-cutting ceremony. Among speakers at the event were Jeffrey Shaw, CEO of Southwest Gas, and Brent Bell, president of Bell Transportation.
“We recognize that air quality is one of the most difficult environmental issues facing Las Vegas today,” Bell said. “Our company is committed to supporting local vehicle emissions controls and we have begun the process of transitioning our fleets to alternative fuel power. We are delighted to work with Clean Energy in this effort.”
Representing Clean Energy at the event was Chairman of the Board Warren Mitchell. He commented, “Las Vegas provides an excellent opportunity for CNG vehicles because it is relatively small geographically and much of the traffic is concentrated in the resort corridor and adjacent airport area, making fueling station access very convenient.”
Mitchell added, “Air quality is a big issue in Las Vegas and the opportunity to shift more vehicles to natural gas with the geography and fueling infrastructure in place could make it one of the leading natural gas vehicle cities in the nation.”
Across America, airports and allied ground transport services have become magnets for natural gas vehicle usage of all types in response to the need to curtail emissions, decrease fuel costs, and reduce dependence on imported oil.
Delivering considerable fuel savings, often over $1.00 per gallon equivalent when compared to diesel or gasoline based on current market conditions, CNG fuel also produces up to 30% lower greenhouse gas emissions in light-duty vehicles and 23% percent lower emissions in medium to heavy-duty vehicle applications. U.S. Department of Energy reports estimate that 98% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S. is sourced in the U.S. and Canada.
About Clean Energy Fuels — Clean Energy (Nasdaq: CLNE) is the largest provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America and a global leader in the expanding natural gas vehicle market. It has operations in CNG and LNG (liquefied natural gas) vehicle fueling, construction and operation of CNG and LNG fueling stations, biomethane production, vehicle conversion and compressor technology.
Clean Energy fuels over 22,700 vehicles at 238 strategic locations across the United States and Canada with a broad customer base in the refuse, transit, trucking, shuttle, taxi, airport and municipal fleet markets. Clean Energy del Peru, a joint venture, fuels vehicles at two stations and provides CNG to commercial customers in Peru. We own (70%) and operate a landfill gas facility in Dallas, Texas, that produces renewable natural gas, or biomethane, for delivery in the nation’s gas pipeline network. We have agreed to build a second facility in Michigan. We own and operate LNG production plants in Willis, Texas and Boron, Calif. with combined capacity of 260,000 LNG gallons per day and that are designed to expand to 340,000 LNG gallons per day as demand increases. NorthStar, a wholly owned subsidiary, is the recognized leader in LNG/LCNG (liquefied to compressed natural gas) fueling system technologies and station construction and operations. BAF Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, is a leading provider of natural gas vehicle systems and conversions for taxis, vans, pick-up trucks and shuttle buses. IMW Industries, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary based in Canada, is a leading supplier of compressed natural gas equipment for vehicle fueling and industrial applications with more than 1,200 installations in 24 countries. www.cleanenergyfuels.com
Forward-Looking Statements — This news release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including statements
about the ability of Las Vegas to support an expanded deployment of natural gas vehicle fleets, the number of CNG Transit Connect and shuttle busses to be deployed by Bell and the price per gallon of CNG relative to diesel and gasoline. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including the rate of CNG vehicle deployment in Las Vegas and the performance, availability and price of CNG vehicles relative to gasoline and diesel vehicles. The forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless otherwise required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.