Islip Town's compressed natural gas station opens to public

Islip officials officially opened to the public Wednesday the town's new compressed natural gas station.

The $2 million station in the town's MacArthur Waste-to-Energy Facility in Ronkonkoma is funded by Clean Energy of Newport Beach, California, which will operate the facility.

Islip officials have estimated that the contract with Clean Energy could bring the town about $50,000 in annual revenue while reducing harmful emissions by about 25 percent.

Last year, the town mandated that the 50 trucks in Islip's contracted residential garbage truck fleet operate on CNG instead of diesel. Other towns embracing the technology include Huntington, which converted its garbage trucks to CNG, and Oyster Bay, which uses CNG-powered town vehicles.

"I join all my colleagues on the Islip Town Board and many others when I say how excited we are to unveil the first municipal CNG station in the Town of Islip and celebrate this important step . . . as we look for ways to conserve energy and preserve our environment," Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter said in a news release. "We believe making the switch to natural gas makes great sense both economically and environmentally."

Clean Energy will pay $1,000 a month plus royalties on all sales of fuel, according to the town. The company is selling CNG for about $2.59 per gasoline-gallon equivalent. It will provide compressed natural gas to public and privately owned vehicles.

"Clean Energy is proud to work with the Town of Islip to bring cleaner refuse trucks to the community's streets," Michael Cecere, the company's regional manager, said in the release.

"The town's leadership in transitioning to natural gas is wise financially as well as environmentally, and we look forward to a long, successful partnership supporting the town's CNG initiative and fueling many clean miles in Islip in the years ahead."