B.C. firm expanding CNG fuelling in Canada with GE system

TORONTO—A Vancouver firm plans to install 20 General Electric compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling stations in British Columbia and Ontario, marking GE’s entry into the Canadian market.

According to GE, B.C.-based Chelsea Natural Gas Ltd. has purchased 20 of its CNG In A Box fuelling systems as the Canadian firm looks to expand the country’s natural gas fueling infrastructure.

The company plans to use the CNG systems as semi-private card lock stations for smaller fleet owners to have broader access to natural gas fuelling for their vehicles.

“In Canada, where commercial fleets are smaller, it is hard for individual fleet operators to justify the expense of building their own natural gas refuelling facilities,” Chelsea Natural Gas CEO Steve Carmichael said in a release.

“GE’s CNG In A Box solution allows us to offer a cost-effective way for vehicle fleet operators to take that first step in taking advantage of the economic and environmental benefits that come with using natural gas as a transportation fuel.”

Each unit is a modular natural gas production system that offers rapid “plug-and-play” simplicity, according to GE.

For Chelsea Natural Gas, several of the CNG In A Box units will feature a specialized cold-weather design to withstand the harsh conditions of the Canadian climate.

The first GE units will be delivered in December 2013 to one of Chelsea’s new fuelling stations scheduled to open in the spring of 2014.