Station Development Contract Award Valued at $40 Million —
Seal Beach, CA (April 27, 2011) — Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has awarded Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq: CLNE) a $40-million contract to design and build four new compressed natural gas (CNG) stations to support the transition of DART’s fixed route and paratransit bus fleet to 100% CNG power. The project will also will include two building modifications for maintenance facilities.
Over the next three years, the agency plans to deploy 452 new CNG buses and 200 CNG paratransit vehicles as replacements for its current fleet of liquefied natural gas and diesel-powered models that began service in 1998.
The new Clean Energy CNG fueling stations will be located at DART’s bus and paratransit maintenance facilities. The station development project is set to start in May 2011 and Clean Energy expects to complete DART’s first new CNG fueling facility by April 2012.
“With the transition of its bus fleet to CNG power, DART joins the ranks of clear leaders among U.S. transit operators anxious to secure the environmental and economic benefits of CNG for their communities,” said James Harger, Clean Energy’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Across the nation, Clean Energy is partnering with many transit agencies to reliably fuel over 5,500 buses daily. We are honored by the opportunity DART has given us to develop the new station infrastructure that will support one of America’s largest CNG transit bus fleets.”
Based in Dallas, Texas, DART deploys buses on 135 fixed and express routes, serving the communities of Addison, Carrollton, Cockrell Hill, Dallas, Farmers Branch, Garland, Glenn Heights, Highland Park, Irving, Richardson, Rowlett, Plano and University Park, Texas. In fiscal year 2010, passenger boardings of DART buses totaled more than 38 million.
Costing less than diesel, natural gas fuel produces up to 23%-percent lower greenhouse gas emissions in medium to heavy-duty vehicles. 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. Using natural gas fuel can prevent tons of emissions from entering the atmosphere throughout the operating life of a typical bus fleet, while also lowering a transit agency’s operating costs significantly.
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 vehicle fueling, construction and operation of CNG and LNG fueling stations, biomethane production, vehicle conversion and compressor technology.
Clean Energy fuels over 21,200 vehicles at 224 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 deployment of DART’s CNG buses and CNG paratransit vehicles and the timing of the commencement and completion of construction of the stations. 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 procurement by DART, the performance, availability and price of CNG vehicles relative to liquefied natural gas, gasoline and diesel vehicles, the price per gallon of compressed natural gas relative to liquefied natural gas, diesel and gasoline, and permitting or other delays encountered during construction of the stations. 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.