Clean Energy plans to use a standardized design of the new GE MicroLNG plants to build additional MicroLNG plants. These first two MicroLNG plants will produce up to 250,000 gallons per day—about 54 million DGEs (diesel gallon equivalents) per year—with the built-in capability for further expansion up to 1 million gallons per day. The 250,000-gallon capacity marks a 67% increase over the capacity of the MicroLNG plant that GE Oil & Gas first introduced in January 2012 (150,000-gallon capacity).

GE also is providing turnkey process/plant construction and consultations on optimal plant location and power partner. The scope of the agreement also includes project installation. It entails not only the liquefaction but also the complete process design from the pre-treatment of the gas to the storage system.

The new system will help reduce a fleet operator’s fuel costs by more than 25% compared to diesel fuel. LNG produced with this MicroLNG system can be used to fuel approximately 28,000 heavy trucks, replacing diesel-powered trucks with equivalent fuel economy. This could enable fleet operators to avoid more than 139,000 metric tons of CO₂e emissions per year, equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 27,000 cars using gasoline or 7,000 trucks using diesel on US roads—assuming an average truck travels approximately 14,000 miles per year.

The LNG produced by the MicroLNG plants will be used primarily at Pilot-Flying J truck stops that serve truckers across the country. The two GE MicroLNG plants are targeted to begin operation in 2015. The two companies are currently assessing the best locations for these first two LNG plants.

Clean Energy expects to complete approximately 70 LNG stations by the end of 2012, with more planned for next year to serve the movement of goods along major transportation corridors throughout the US. While CNG, or compressed natural gas, is primarily used in cars, buses and smaller trucks, the LNG fueling being rolled out at Clean Energy’s stations is targeted at long-haul, heavy-duty trucks, which will have the advantage of longer driving ranges while not impacting tractor weight and incremental costs. In 2013, four major manufacturers will introduce the Cummins Westport 12-liter LNG engine for long-haul Class 8 trucks.

GE is committed to natural gas. From extraction to transport to power generation—we continue to develop solutions that infuse new technologies into the value chain and help improve every step of the natural gas development and deployment life cycle. Our ecomagination-qualified MicroLNG plant was born from the same turbomachinery technology that has made GE a success in large LNG compression such as in the world-scale plants in Qatar and Australia. By taking this technology and reengineering it so that it’s modular and highly efficient, we are able to help customers such as Clean Energy deliver this abundant and cleaner fuel source to the market.

—Dan Heintzelman, president and CEO of GE Oil & Gas

GE’s MicroLNG plant can liquefy natural gas at any point along a gas distribution network, making it suited for supporting the fueling of vehicles in remote locations by reducing the impact of long-distance fuel transport. This MicroLNG technology is part of GE’s expanding technology offerings in the natural gas-for-transportation sector.