Stater Bros. Markets purchased fifteen (15) liquefied natural gas (LNG) tractors for use in their grocery distribution business. The vehicles are equipped with the Caterpillar C12 pilot-ignition engine, certified at the California Air Resources Board optional NOx certification level of 2.5 g/bhp-hr. This brings the total number of LNG-fueled tractors operated by Stater Bros. to 35. The LNG vehicles are fueled using a portable, 4,500 gallon capacity LNG refueling station. Fuel is delivered to the portable station three or more times each week. While refueling using the portable station is more economical than fueling off-site, it is still more expensive as compared to a dedicated, large capacity on-site LNG station. All vehicle refueling is performed at the Stater Bros. facility by designated personnel; this eliminates the need to train all 336 drivers. At the time of submission of the Final Report, Stater Bros. reported that the fuel cost per mile for the 15 LNG tractors was approximately 1.61% lower than the cost of refueling their diesel fleet.
1567065.00
This project benefits all areas of the South Coast AQMD.
Each truck travels approximately 75,000 miles annually within the South Coast AQMD. This equates to an average annual NOx reduction of approximately 8.47 tons for the 15 vehicle fleet.
The Final Report includes detailed discussion of vehicle acquisition and fueling, summary of accomplishments, vehicle activity/emission benefits, and problems encounted/ recommended solutions.