Fred Meyer receives first LNG trucks

Fred Meyer Stores, a division of The Kroger Company, has announced the arrival of the first 11 heavy-duty trucks powered by LNG.

Fred Meyer will receive a total of 40 LNG trucks over the next few months, making Fred Meyer the first in Oregon to deploy a fleet of heavy-duty LNG trucks.

The new trucks will replace 40 diesel trucks currently in use, and will deliver product to Fred Meyer stores between Oregon and Washington. Some of the 40 diesel trucks will be used to replace older, less efficient diesel trucks in the fleet.

Alternative fuels

Lynn Gust, President of Fred Meyer Stores, commented: “Fred Meyer is pleased to be the first in Kroger’s process of transitioning the Kroger fleet to alternative fuels. Converting to LNG trucks allows us to reinvest savings into lower prices while also providing a great benefit to the environment.”

The trucks will average approximately 175 miles per day, six days a week, 52 weeks a year. They are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 755 tpy. The trucks are being manufactured at Freightliner’s North Carolina plant.

The fleet will be fuelled at a new, private LNG fuelling station at Fred Meyer’s Clackamas Distribution Centre, which has been designed and engineered by Clean Energy Fuels. Clean Energy will also supply the LNG for the fuelling station, and once all 40 trucks are active, Clean Energy will supply the approximately one million gallons a year needed to service them.

Viable solution

“LNG is a viable alternative fuel for Kroger in the future,” added Ashley White, logistics sustainability manager for The Kroger Co. “It will serve as a bridge between traditional fossil fuels and emerging renewable fuels and technologies. We are committed to this very important work.”

Kroger has invested US$6.5 million in the project and has received a US$490 000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration via ODOT for the LNG infrastructure. Kroger has applied for US$360 000 in grant funding from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to retire nine diesel trucks and completely replace them with LNG trucks.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/05122014/fred-meyer-announces-arrival-of-lng-trucks-1914/