Lowe's gives green light for natural gas-powered truck fleet

Lowe's is transitioning from diesel-fueled transport by launching a fleet of natural gas-powered trucks at its regional distribution center in Mount Vernon, Texas. The dedicated fleet will be among the first of its kind in North America, running solely on natural gas.

"The transition to an NG-powered fleet was a natural step for Lowe's because of the economic and environmental benefits of natural gas," said Steve Palmer, Lowe's VP transportation. "Given the amount of natural gas that's available domestically, broadly utilizing natural gas will give us an opportunity to better control our transportation fuel costs in the coming years. Our goal is to replace all of our diesel-powered dedicated fleets with natural gas trucks by the end of 2017."

The move is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 20% and control fuel costs via its 68-per-day truckloads to stores in the area.

Lowe's began using liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel its trucks last year at its Kissimmee, Fla. distribution center.