Kroger Division Turns to Liquefied Natural Gas Trucks
Fred Meyer Stores, a division of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) has taken delivery recently of 11 heavy-duty trucks that run on liquefied natural gas (LNG).
In total, Fred Meyer will receive 40 LNG trucks over the next several months, making Fred Meyer the first in Oregon to deploy a fleet of heavy-duty LNG trucks. The new LNG trucks will replace 40 diesel trucks currently in use, and will deliver product to Fred Meyer stores as far south as Corvallis, Ore., and as far north as Longview, Wash.
Some of the 40 diesel trucks will be used to replace older, less efficient diesel trucks in the fleet.
According to Lynn Gust, president of Fred Meyer Stores, “Converting to LNG trucks allows us to reinvest savings into lower prices while also providing a great benefit to the environment.”
The trucks will average approximately 175 miles per day, six days a week, 52 weeks a year. They are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 755 metric tons per year, which equates to removing approximately 159 passenger cars from the road annually. The trucks are manufactured at Freightliner’s North Carolina plant.
The fleet will be fueled at a new, private LNG fueling station at Fred Meyer’s Clackamas Distribution Center, which has been designed and engineered by Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE). Clean Energy will also supply the liquefied natural gas for the fueling station, and once all 40 trucks are active, Clean Energy will supply the approximately one million gallons a year needed to service them.
The use of LNG, noted Clean Energy Fuels, “not only reduces operating costs for vehicles, but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions up to 23 percent in medium- to heavy-duty vehicles.” It is the same natural gas used in homes, but is cooled to negative 260 degrees and is not under pressure.
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