LNG Providers Make Cutbacks, Slowing Development of Fueling Stations
Two major players who are developing their own networks of natural gas fueling stations have cut back on expansion efforts.
Two major players who are developing their own networks of natural gas fueling stations have cut back on expansion efforts.
Blu LNG has laid off 20% of its staff, ousted several senior executives and slowed down development of fueling stations as it waits for more truckers to embrace the switch to the cheap and cleaner-burning fuel, according to Reuters.
The company has a network of about 25 locations, with plans to grow to 40 to 50 by the end of the year, far less that it originally planned.It has cut its number of employees by 40 to 170, according to Fleets and Fuels.
Competitor Clean Energy Fuels is also slowing development of its network. It reportedly has 80 fueling stations, but only just over a quarter are operational, while plans call for opening one about every week and half to two-week.
The reason for all of this, as Blu LNG CEO Merritt Norton said in an interview with Reuters, “is to let trucks catch up on us.”
In other words, development of the LNG networks has been outpacing sales of LNG-powered big rigs.
Read more about it from Reuters as well as from Fleets and Fuels.
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