Aqua America, Inc. has been selected to receive an Energy Solutions Center Partnership Award for Innovative Energy Solutions at the organization’s Technology and Market Assessment Forum held in Philadelphia Thursday.

The Partnership Award is an honor reserved for those energy users that have worked with their energy utility system to implement an innovative, energy-efficient technology or solution.

Aqua America is an early adopter, and has been a vocal advocate for using natural gas to power its vehicles with Compressed Natural Gas.

Its largest subsidiary, Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc., piloted CNG vehicles for more than a year before installing a slow-fill station at its Springfield Operations Center in Delaware County.

Since then, it has installed two Fuel Maker FMQ-8 units at the same location, capable of time filling eight vehicles, each with a daily fuel use of 10 Gasoline Gallon Equivalents (80 GGE total) in 10 hours.

These units produce approximately 20,000 GGEs per year, equivalent to more than 2,500 MCF per year. Aqua is currently working on installing a similar system at two other southeastern Pennsylvania operations facilities.

Aqua America Chairman Nicholas DeBenedictis said, “We are honored to be recognized by Energy Solutions for our efforts to maximize the use of CNG in our vehicle fleet. It affirms our decision to step out and be among those to pioneer CNG, which benefits our customers by reducing fuel expense while simultaneously supporting one of the largest economic drivers Pennsylvania has seen since the last energy boon.”

Aqua Pennsylvania began its transition to CNG with several vans, bi-fuel pickups and dump trucks at its Springfield location, and has initial plans to transition up to 20 dump trucks and 60 vans.

As the company begins to turn over all its vehicles, those that have original equipment manufacturer CNG alternatives, will be considered for transition to CNG vehicles.

10/28/2013