USA: Trillium lands huge deal to build 29 CNG fuelling stations in Pennsylvania

Secretary Leslie S. Richards announced the selection of Trillium for the department's Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) transit fuelling station Public-Private Partnership (P3) project.

Through the $84.5 million project, Trillium will design, build, finance, operate and maintain CNG fuelling stations at 29 public transit agency sites through a 20-year P3 agreement. Stations will be constructed over the next five years and the firm will also make CNG-related upgrades to existing transit maintenance facilities.

"The department is excited to partner on this project that will bring benefits for the state, our transit partners and the public for years to come," Richards said. "The project's aggressive schedule means that we'll realize cost, environmental and operational benefits quickly."

As part of Trillium's proposal, CNG fuelling will be accessible to the public at seven transit agency sites, with the option to add to additional sites in the future. PennDOT will receive a 15 percent royalty, excluding taxes, for each gallon of fuel sold to the public, which will be used to support the cost of the project. The team has guaranteed at least $2.1 million in royalties over the term of the agreement.

Using the P3 procurement mechanism allows PennDOT to install the fuelling stations faster than if a traditional procurement mechanism was used for each site, resulting in significant estimated capital cost savings of more than $46 million.

When the project is completed, the fuelling stations will supply gas to more than 1,600 CNG buses at transit agencies across the state.