FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - (Business Wire) Choice Environmental Services hosted opening ceremonies at 12:30 p.m. today at its new Pompano Beach compressed natural gas (CNG) refuse truck fueling station. Designed, built and operated by Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq: CLNE), the private time-fill station is located on property owned by Choice, and will support the deployment of the waste and recycling firm’s new fleet of clean-burning natural gas refuse trucks. Choice Environmental is the first refuse company in South Florida to convert a portion of its operations to compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel. The new station also marks Clean Energy’s entry into the Florida market.
Beginning November 1, the new fleet of natural gas trucks will roll out to serve Choice’s residential and commercial customers in the City of Fort Lauderdale. The company’s Florida service area encompasses Palm Beach, Broward, Dade and Collier counties. Choice has extensive operations throughout Southern Florida.
Government officials who addressed guests at the ribbon-cutting ceremony included:
Jack Seiler, Mayor of the City of Fort Lauderdale; Lamar Fisher, Mayor of Pompano Beach; and Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs.
Choice’s CEO Glen Miller hosted the event and said, "Choice is excited to be the leading environmentally-friendly waste company in Florida, with the introduction of our new CNG-powered vehicles that will serve our customers in Florida. CNG trucks reduce greenhouse gases emissions by 25% compared to conventional diesel-fueled trucks, and are up to 85% quieter while idling. Choice has plans to expand our fleet of CNG trucks, which exceed 2012 federal emissions standards, and to deploy them throughout the communities we service in South Florida. We are very pleased to partner with Clean Energy, TECO Peoples Gas, Autocar, and E-Z Pack to do our part to ensure a clean environment, and to help reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil by converting to a domestic fuel source.”
Mark Riley, Clean Energy’s Eastern U.S. General Manager, added, “We welcome the opportunity to provide this service to Choice Environmental, which in turn will benefit the State of Florida by beginning to use cleaner, cheaper, domestically abundant natural gas fuel for waste and recycling hauling. Refuse companies throughout the country are adopting natural gas fuel for both environmental and economic reasons, and we congratulate Choice for leading the way in Florida.”
The natural gas used to produce CNG fuel onsite at the station is supplied by TECO Peoples Gas, Florida's largest natural gas distribution company. TECO Vice President Bruce Narzissenfeld was at the event and told guests, "TECO Peoples Gas is proud to provide clean-burning, domestically produced natural gas to fuel these new trucks that will serve the City of Fort Lauderdale. It is a pleasure to partner with Choice Environmental and Clean Energy as we continue with our commitment to help protect and preserve Florida's environment.”
About Choice Environmental Services
Choice Environmental Services, Inc., is a Florida-based residential, commercial, and industrial solid waste service company that provides solid waste and recycling collection, transportation, processing and disposal services throughout Southern Florida. Through municipal contracts, Choice offers a complete range of integrated services to 110,000 homes. In addition, the company serves more than 5,000 commercial and industrial locations. At its material recovery/transfer/recycling facilities, Choice processes over 120,000 tons of material annually. Since its inception in 2003, Choice has grown to become one of the largest leading independent refuse service providers in Southern Florida. The corporate headquarters is located at 2860 State Road 84, Suite #103, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33312.
Choice senior managers collectively have amassed more than a century of experience in the waste industry, and have earned a reputation for excellence and execution throughout the industry. The company employs a staff of over 175 highly trained experienced professionals who are equipped with the knowledge and tools to provide superior customer service in a safe, efficient manner using state-of-the-art equipment. The company is dedicated to operating a quality waste service company that provides safe, cost-effective, superior customer service, while, at the same time, protecting Florida’s environment.
About TECO Peoples Gas
TECO Peoples Gas, a division of Tampa Electric Company, is Florida's largest natural gas distribution company, and is one of the four core businesses of TECO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:TE), an energy-related holding company, with regulated utility operations in Florida, including the electric division better known as Tampa Electric and TECO Peoples Gas. TECO Peoples Gas serves approximately 334,000 customers in most of Florida's major metropolitan areas and beyond. Other subsidiaries include TECO Coal Corporation, which owns and operates coal production facilities in Kentucky and Virginia, and TECO Guatemala Inc., which is engaged in electric power generation and distribution and energy-related businesses in Guatemala.
About Clean Energy
Clean Energy (Nasdaq:CLNE) is the leading provider of natural gas (CNG and LNG) for transportation in North America. It has a broad customer base in the refuse, transit, ports, shuttle, taxi, trucking, airport and municipal fleet markets, fueling more than 17,200 vehicles at 184 strategic locations across the United States and Canada. Clean Energy owns and operates two LNG production plants, one in Willis, TX and one in Boron, CA, with combined capacity of 260,000 LNG gallons per day and designed to expand to 340,000 LNG gallons per day as demand increases. It owns and operates a landfill gas facility in Dallas, TX that produces renewable methane gas or biogas for delivery in the nation’s gas pipeline network. Clean Energy also owns and operates BAF Technologies, Inc. of Dallas, TX, a leading provider of natural gas vehicle systems and conversions for taxis, limousines, vans, pick-up trucks and shuttle buses. Please visit 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 CNG refuse trucks by Choice. 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 unanticipated construction or permitting delays or availability of CNG refuse vehicles. The forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date of this press release and the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
Choice Environmental Services
Ray Peraino, 954-797-7974 Ext. 1111
rayp@choicewaste.com
or
Clean Energy
Christine Thomas, 310-559-4955 Ext. 103
cthomas@cleanenergyfuels.com
or
TECO Peoples Gas
Rick Morera, 813-228-4945
RJMorera@tecoenergy.com
