IP extends natural gas contract with NG Advantage

NG Advantage LLC, a majority-owned subsidiary of Clean Energy Fuels Corp, recently announced that it has signed an eighteen month contract extension with International Paper. Under this extension, NG Advantage will continue delivering clean-burning compressed natural gas (CNG) to International Paper’s Ticonderoga, NY paper mill using its virtual or mobile pipeline of tractor-trailers that deliver 24/7. This is the largest mobile pipeline project in the U.S. and showcases the scalability of NG Advantage’s service to deliver natural gas as an alternative fuel choice for even the largest industrial energy users.

“The service to the IP mill demonstrates that our trucked CNG platform has successfully been scaled to meet demand which would have formerly required a special pipeline extension.”

“It’s a pleasure to work with the very innovative people at International Paper and help them meet their environmental and financial goals in a rapidly changing world,” said NG Advantage CEO Tom Evslin. “The service to the IP mill demonstrates that our trucked CNG platform has successfully been scaled to meet demand which would have formerly required a special pipeline extension.”

International Paper had long been planning a switch to natural gas to displace much of the #6 fuel oil used at the Ticonderoga mill in order to substantially reduce its environmental footprint and enjoy the price stability of the domestic fuel. The mill had originally planned to pay much of the cost of a traditional pipeline extension from Vermont to Ticonderoga, NY, and sought bids for trucked CNG only for interim service until the pipeline arrived. NG Advantage, which was the first company to provide virtual pipeline service in the U.S., received the contact for that interim service in 2014.

A mill as large as Ticonderoga requires a customized end-to-end energy supply chain. NG Advantage designed new hardware, developed new procedures, and built extensions to its cloud-based SCADA (control software). The result was deliveries beginning on schedule in May of 2015 with NG Advantage providing the mill with approximately eighteen trailer loads of clean, inexpensive natural gas daily.

International Paper canceled plans for the pipeline because of escalating delays and costs and issued an RFP for long-term virtual pipeline service to keep natural gas in their fuel mix. After evaluating bids, International Paper chose to extend its existing contract with NG Advantage.

International Paper is the seventh paper mill and the twenty-sixth location to contract with NG Advantage. Natural gas delivered 24/7 by truck gives plants an experience much like being on a traditional pipeline without the long term capital commitment of a pipeline extension.