Lowe’s launches LNG truck fleet

Lowe’s announced it has launched a dedicated fleet of trucks powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) at its regional distribution centre in Texas, as part of the company’s continued commitment to promote responsible transportation practices and sustainable technologies.

Lowe’s dedicated fleet at Mount Vernon is among the first serving a major retail distribution centre in North America to run solely on LNG.

With the transition to LNG fuelled trucks, Lowe’s expects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by almost 20% and will control fuel costs as it transports up to 68 loads every day to stores in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

Environmental benefits

“The transition to an NG-powered fleet was a natural step for Lowe’s because of the economic and environmental benefits of natural gas,” said Steve Palmer, vice president of transportation at Lowe’s. “Given the amount of natural gas that’s available domestically, broadly utilizing natural gas will give us an opportunity to better control our transportation fuel costs in the coming years. Our goal is to replace all of our diesel-powered dedicated fleets with natural gas trucks by the end of 2017.”

Lowe’s began using natural gas trucks last year at its distribution centre in Kissimmee, Florida, and teamed with carrier partner NFI to launch the natural gas dedicated fleet in Texas.

“We started on this journey approximately three years ago, and this was the perfect scenario to roll out our first natural gas fleet,” said Ike Brown, NFI vice chairman and owner. “We look forward to continue to develop our sustainability initiatives, as a logistics provider and as a partner with Lowe’s.”

Alternative fuel use

Lowe’s worked with Clean Energy, the largest provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America, to research the use of alternative fuels and accelerate the transition to natural gas. Clean Energy will support the NFI fleet by opening a natural gas station in Sulphur Springs, Texas.

“This is a great model for America – a collaboration between one of the country’s largest shippers and a forward-looking fleet using a fuel that is not only economical but better for the air we breathe,” said Jim Harger, chief marketing officer at Clean Energy.

Encouraging its carriers to convert their dedicated fleets to natural gas underlines Lowe’s commitment to transport products responsibly and press for continuous improvement across the industry.

“We hope our efforts will help build the momentum for others to transition their fleets and spur the development of natural gas vehicles,” Steve Palmer said.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/18102013/lng_truck_fleet_launched_in_texas_327/