Shortly, I will post the environmental benefits of using FirmGreen technology to produce renewable methane.

FirmGreen® …the World of Renewable Energy®

In order to gain some perspective, at Essex we dropped south off of I-40 onto the legendary and storied route 66 and continued through the Mojave towards Ludlow, California. The raw, stark beauty of the Mojave is all but stunning; the ancient rhythms of the Earth are evident there.

At Ludlow we stopped for some coffee and pie and admired the 1951 Chevy panel truck rusting silently behind the Ludlow Café. From San Bernardino to the coast we fought a deluge of rain and the notorious southern California traffic. By 1800 hours, through a rain streaked and dirty windshield we caught our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.

Check out Google Maps to view our route across the USA

By late afternoon the St. Louis Arch, gateway to the West, was in full view. We had jumped off of I-70 onto I-55 heading towards I-44. As you proceed towards downtown St. Louis on I-55 the specter of the Mississippi River comes suddenly, without forewarning. Looking down at the murky water, it’s measured cadence strolling towards New Orleans and the Gulf, a more genteel time comes to mind. The Mississippi, while separating us geographically, somehow binds our nation together like the seam running up the back of your Levi jacket.

Soon after crossing the Mississippi we were at the Laclede Gas Company for a fueling stop. Laclede Gas Company is the public gas utility in the St. Louis area. Laclede operates a dispensing station for CNG and they were very accommodating in refueling our shuttle. After leaving Laclede we were back on I-44 westbound heading towards Tulsa, Oklahoma. We were soon climbing into the Ozarks as the sun began to set. We crossed over into Oklahoma under full cover of night and proceeded across Cherokee nation in search of Tulsa and a moderately priced hotel room.

Check out Google Maps as we chart the trip

Our first refueling destination was Kyler Brothers Services located at 4355 Lafayette Boulevard in Indianapolis, Indiana. A steady drizzle accompanied us west bound on I-70 all the way to Indy, but with temperatures above freezing the road conditions were fair. I had called Tom Kyler a few days before our departure. Tom was still melancholy over the stunning upset by the Saints over the Colts in the Superbowl, but tried his best to be pleasant on the phone as he informed me that their station was available for public use 24 hours a day seven days a week.

We discovered that acess to the Kyler Brothers station was easy, right off of I-65 just north of downtown Indy. At 2145 hours we pulled into a well lit fueling island at the Kyler Brothers Station. This is an unmanned station but the posted fueling instructions made our refueling stop a breeze. We had gone 187.4 miles from our home base in Grove City and had taken on 20.39 GGE’s of CNG. The pump price was $1.59/gge and the total cost of the fill up was $32.43. After stretching our legs and taking a moment to reflect on what lay ahead we mounted up and headed West towards St. Louis.

Check out Google Maps as we chart the trip

Fueling with gCNG

NEWPORT BEACH, CA – SEPT. 15, 2008 — Today, FirmGreen, Inc. (FGI) announces the opening of a Green Energy Center (GEC), near Columbus, Ohio.  In a public-private partnership with the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO), FirmGreen built the landfill gas processing facility and fueling station that pumps compressed natural gas (CNG) processed from landfill gas.

The facility collects and cleans raw landfill gas (methane) using CO2 Wash®, a patented technology developed in Ohio by Acrion Technologies. The cleaned methane is then converted into ‘green’ compressed natural gas (gCNG®) for use in CNG powered cars and medium duty trucks.  gCNG® is FirmGreen’s trademarked brand name for Compressed Natural Gas from renewable resourses such as landfill gas and biomass.  It is a remarkable Biofuel that does not require food resources to produce.

“What started four years ago as a vision has become reality today. By making use of waste gases generated from SWACO’s landfill, we will produce renewable transportation fuels and skilled jobs for Ohio,” says Steve Wilburn, founder and CEO of FirmGreen, Inc. “FirmGreen is very pleased and honored to have been selected to partner with SWACO to build the first Green Energy Center (GEC) in the U.S. FirmGreen believes the successful completion of the GEC concept positions Ohio at the forefront in the national effort to clean our air and lessen our dependence on foreign oil while providing the surrounding communities with clean affordable vehicle fuels and retraining Ohio’s displaced industrial workers to find jobs in the emerging green energy marketplace.”

“What once was an idea is now fuel to power America’s future” says SWACO Executive Director Ron Mills. “We take pride in the fact that the technology which will make our Green Energy Center unique is Ohio grown. We are excited to show the world that the Greater Columbus region is ready to answer the call when it comes to our green future!”

The facility being commissioned is Phase One of a multi-phase development that when completed will produce approximately 30,000 Gasoline Gallon Equivalents (GGE) per day.  The facility can produce fuel at a GGE cost lower than $2.00 per gallon. Compared to Ohio’s recent cost of $4.85 per gallon for diesel fuel, net savings of $60,000 per day can be achieved for Ohio fleets.  The gCNG® fuel will meet OEM engine manufacturing specifications for CNG fuel.

In short, FirmGreen technology can lessen our dependence on foreign oil while producing clean, cost effective vehicle fuels from landfill gas at a price far less than petroleum based gasoline and diesel.  The environmental and economic benefits of FirmGreen’s compelling business model offer communities a viable alternative to flaring landfill gases which is the norm in the United States.

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FirmGreen® provides proven technology for bringing renewable energy and fuels to the market. For more information about the company, visit www.firmgreen.com. For more details about gCNG®, please visit the company website at: http://www.firmgreen.com/tech_fuel.htm

SWACO is the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio. SWACO operates the Franklin County Landfill, three transfer stations, and promotes recycling and waste reduction programs for consumers and businesses in Franklin County.  More on SWACO at www.swaco.org.