Mineta San Jose International Airport Opens Compressed Natural Gas Fueling Station

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 20, 2003 -- Mineta San Jose International Airport's (SJC) new compressed natural gas (CNG) station, the only CNG station to be owned by a major metropolitan airport in California, was officially opened today. The event included a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a display of alternative fuel vehicles ranging from Airport cars and shuttle buses to utility vehicles and taxicabs.

The station, located north of Terminal A on Airport Boulevard, was developed primarily for fueling vehicles serving the Airport, but is also open to the public. Open 24-hours-a-day, the Airport CNG station will fuel a super ultra low-emission fleet of 20 transit-style Airport shuttle buses, as well as clean fuel taxis and door-to-door shuttle vans.

"This station will encourage the greater use of clean-air vehicles by providing a convenient location for our residents and businesses," said San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales. "We can protect our air quality by creating incentives and reducing barriers to promote the use of alternative fuels such as CNG or electric."

"Part of the Airport's vision statement is to be a good environmental neighbor, and this station is one of the most visible public examples of our commitment to the community. Natural gas is a clean, powerful and cost-effective fuel for our city," said Ralph Tonseth, Director of Aviation. "The new station will be used regularly for our City of San Jose CNG vehicles, and, by opening the station to the public, we are encouraging others to take a closer look at the benefits of using CNG vehicles."

The new station is equipped with two dispenser islands, each island has a dispenser capable of fueling four vehicles at a time; three nozzles are for light-duty vehicles and one is for heavy-duty vehicles, such as the Airport's shuttle buses. The dispensers accept payment from six different credit cards (including VISA, Master Card, Discover and American Express) and boast the latest technology in dispensing and compressing natural gas. The station designed to dispense up to equivalent 2,000,000 gallons per year.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a vehicle powered by CNG reduces emissions over conventional vehicles from 25% up to 97%. In addition, natural gas fuel has historically been less expensive than gasoline or diesel. The new Airport CNG buses, which replaced older diesel buses, have a positive effect on the environment by reducing emissions up to 30 tons per year.

Speakers at the ceremony today included San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales, San Jose Councilmember Linda Lezotte, PG&E Director of Customer Energy Management Steve McCarty and Director of Aviation Ralph Tonseth.

The equipment and construction cost of the station was $2.7 million. Partial funding was provided through grants from the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and the California Energy Commission. Airport revenue sources were used to fund the balance of this project. No local taxes were used to fund this project.

Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), a self-supporting enterprise, is owned and operated by the City of San Jose. SJC served 11.1 million passengers and handled more than 309 million pounds of air cargo in 2002. SJC has 195 flights a day on 12 domestic and international carriers to 34 nonstop destinations.