# 1 2011 Government Green Fleet Award

According to a recent Governing article, the Green Fleet Action Plan of Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman has achieved sustained levels of success. The plan began in 2008 with the goals of reducing fuel costs and emissions of city vehicles by converting vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). By 2011, Columbus, OH was ranked # 1 as Best Fleet by the Government Green Fleet Awards. Green changes are costly but worth the investment.

Columbus fleet administrator Kelly Reagan targeted service vehicles that had the highest diesel fuel consumption and tailpipe emissions. The city began buying new CNG vehicles to replace older ones, hoping to swap over 500 by 2020. However, each costs $30-50,000 more than their predecessors. The first Columbus CNG fueling station was built for $3.6 million with help from a U.S. DOE stimulus grant. That money is not available for a second station currently being built for $5.4 million.

CNG benefits justify current expenses.

CNG usage is cheaper than traditional fuel sources. Columbus pays $1.30 per gasoline gallon equivalent (gge) for the CNG vehicles. This includes gas pumped, compression and storage fees, and fuel station operating costs. This also includes a federal rebate of 50 cents per gge for owning the station. Expected savings in fuel costs by 2020 are $2 million.****

CNG combustion also produces fewer harmful gases than current traditional fuels. This helps meet Mayor Coleman’s goals of reducing both costs and emissions in Columbus city vehicles.

Green Fleet Success Not Limited to Columbus.

In the true spirit of improving overall quality of life in Ohio, Columbus is sharing their knowledge and expertise with other cities in the region. Dublin, OH was awarded a 2013 top Government Green Fleet award for converting its vehicles to natural gas. In addition, Columbus is sharing its CNG infrastructure with other public and private enterprises. This should help boost the local economy by savings most likely being spent in the region.

Frog Hauling is proud of our hometown of Columbus, OH for sharing a vision of environmentally safe practices. At Frog Hauling, we make every effort to reuse or recycle materials placed in our dumpsters to reduce local landfills and make the air cleaner.