Spotlight: Texas Clean Transportation Triangle
Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio - five of the
20 largest cities in the U.S. - compose a rapidly growing
mega-region named the Texas Triangle. Connected by a triangle of
interstate freeways: I-45, I-10 and I-35, at least 10 percent of
the U.S. transportation sector travels through the Texas Triangle
each year.
On July 15, 2011, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed into law Senate
Bill 20, a first-of-its-kind legislation created to help create a
sustainable network of natural gas-refueling stations along the
Texas Triangle. The bill lays a foundation for wider-scale
deployment of heavy-duty, mid- and light-duty natural gas vehicles
(NGVs) in the Texas market, making the transition to a lower cost,
domestically produced, and cleaner fuel a more viable option for
Texas businesses, cities and consumers.
An unprecedented consortium of more than 200 stakeholders was
engaged in the strategic plan, including fleet operators such as
United Parcel Service and business groups such as the Houston NGV
Alliance and the Metroplex NGV Consortium. They were joined by
utilities, fuel suppliers such as Clean Energy Fuels Corp., natural
gas producers, and universities.
Economic Benefits
The TCTT will provide an important economic stimulus for Texas and Texas businesses:
- The TCTT will create more than $135 million in direct investment in the Texas economy and will support nearly 1,000 clean fuel technology jobs.
- Heavy-duty fleet operators consistently report 30% to 40% cost savings for their natural gas fleet operations compared to diesel.
- The TCTT will save Texas companies more than $30 million in fuel costs by using lower cost Texas-produced natural gas in place of more expensive diesel fuel. These savings can then be invested back into these businesses, jobs and the Texas economy.
- Fuel-hungry heavy-duty fleet operations such as refuse, transit, trucking, and municipal operations offer the best opportunity for natural gas deployments and thus the best opportunity for immediate gains in energy independence.
- The TCTT will reduce reliance on foreign energy by displacing more than 41 million gallons of petroleum-diesel fuel use with more than 6 billion cubic feet (bcf) of Texas-produced natural gas, according to a study by Gladstein, Neandross & Associates.
Helping Texans Breathe Easier
Heavy-duty diesel trucks are one of the most significant contributors to urban air-quality problems, including smog. Replacing diesel trucks with clean burning low-emission natural gas trucks offers one of the best potential strategies for Texas communities to improve air quality and meet air quality standards.
The emission benefits that will result from the implementation of the TCTT is the equivalent of taking more than 175,000 cars off of Texas highways in the state's most populated areas.
