City of Asheville gets CNG expansion and fleet addition thanks to grant partnership

What’s cheaper than gasoline, burns cleaner than gasoline and reduces dependence on foreign oil? The answer is compressed natural gas, and the Asheville area now has even more access to it thanks to the City of Asheville’s newly expanded CNG fueling station at 45 McCormick Place.

That news came June 27, as the City, alongside partners Land of Sky Regional Council and Mission Health, held a joint media event to announce a successful collaboration that resulted in an increase of CNG vehicles and CNG fueling accessibility in the region.

A grant award of $1.5 million allowed the City of Asheville to double the station’s storage capacity and add 25 new CNG vehicles to its fleet, bringing the city’s total count of its CNG fleet to 37 vehicles. The upgrades were funded through grants from the Carolina Blue Skies and Green Jobs Initiative, led by the Triangle J Council of Governments and supported by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. In all, $12 million was distributed among 40 alternative vehicle projects across North and South Carolina. Mission Health was able to add five vehicles to its CNG fleet, including two shuttles.

Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy praised the partnership effort for its leadership in supporting cleaner air in North Carolina, reducing fuel costs and backing green jobs in the area.

“This partnership project is a great example of organizations working together to build a more sustainable community,” Bellamy said. “These are the kinds of steps that make us a more sustainable, healthy and environmentally sound city.”

The City of Asheville’s CNG station, one of only four in the region, is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, open to the public, and counts among its customers Mission Health, Land Of Sky Regional Council, Buncombe County’s Mountain Mobility system, UNC-Asheville and AT&T.

Compressed natural gas costs an average of $1 less per gallon and emits roughly 23% less greenhouse gasses than gasoline and using CNG fuel in fleet vehicles furthers Asheville City Council’s strategic priorities to be fiscally and environmentally responsible.

For more about the City of Asheville’s sustainability initiatives, click here.