The first of four new natural gas liquefier plants will begin producing high-quality LNG for truck and bus applications in Kern County, CA, early next month. Using natural gas that is currently “flared off” or burned, the plant will produce 5,000 gal. of LNG a day, according to Applied LNG Technologies USA.
The company says it will open a second natural gas liquefier plant in Amarillo, TX, later this Fall. The LNG produced by the two plants will contain 97% methane, making it suitable for medium- and heavy-duty truck and bus applications, according to Applied LNG Technologies.
Similar facilities are planned for San Diego and Simi Valley, CA, in 2002. Both of those plants will produce LNG from captured landfill gas, which Applied LNG says is expected to replace diesel for refuse haulers using the landfills.
Smaller than current LNG facilities, the four new plants allow production closer to fleet users and do not require pipeline natural gas supplies, making LNG more cost effective as a replacement for diesel fuel, according to the company.