SunLine Transit Agency to Host Earth Day Celebration on Monday, April 22, 2019

Apr 16, 2019

Celebration Open to Public; will Feature Green Initiatives including Unveiling of 5 New Fuel Cell Buses, Introduction to the Nation’s Largest Transit-related Hydrogen Fueling Station Under Construction, An Environmental Exhibitor Fair & Learning Center Tours

(Thousand Palms, CA)  SunLine Transit Agency invites the public and media to its headquarters in Thousand Palms for an Earth Day Celebration on Earth Day – this coming Monday, April 22nd.

The Itinerary of Events for the Celebration is as follows:

10:00 a.m.  Press Conference unveiling 5 new Fuel Cell Buses and introducing the nation’s largest transit-related Hydrogen Fueling Station.

  • Officials from the California Air Resources Board – which announced the grant for these state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly additions to SunLine Transit Agency’s commitment to clean air technologies – will be present for the unveiling of 5 new fuel cell buses and a sneak peek at the largest Hydrogen Fueling Station in the country, which is currently under construction.
  • Attendees of the Press Conference will be able to ride one of the new fuel cell buses to the rest of the day’s Celebration – which will be held at the SunLine Learning Center.
     

10:30 a.m. Tours of SunLine’s Learning Center begin, as we as an Environmental Exhibitors Fair featuring local organizations committed to helping consumers and businesses “go green” including Desert Arc’s Recycling Program, Desert Water Agency, Coachella Valley Water District, SunCommute, Kiewit, Burrtec, Mission Springs Water District, Planet Solar, Ballard and Renova Solar, among others. The fair and tours will run until 2:00 p.m. Those wishing to RSVP for a Learning Center tour can do so here: http://bit.ly/STAEarthDay.

11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Light Lunch & Earth Day Treats (while supplies last)

2:00 p.m. Event Wrap-up

“We are excited to welcome the public to our Agency headquarters to celebrate Earth Day with us,” said Lauren Skiver, CEO/General Manager of SunLine Transit Agency. “In addition to some groundbreaking announcements we have to share about how SunLine is continuing its commitment to clean air throughout the region, we’re embracing this day with millions of others worldwide as an opportunity to really look at ways we can all ‘go green’ together and be united in efforts that will help our planet.”

Additional Background:

SunLine Transit Agency began its mission to incorporate clean fuels into its fleet 25 years ago, beginning with 40 buses fueled by clean CNG in May 1994. SunLine Transit Agency became the first 100% CNG transit system in the country.

Since then, the Agency has been at the forefront of clean fuel initiatives including deployment of several generations of hydrogen electric fuel cell buses – each of which showcased its own unique advancements in zero emission technology. In fact, the Agency put into service the first hydrogen fuel cell bus in the world to incorporate hybrid electric technology – which uses onboard batteries to substantially increase the efficiency of the hydrogen fuel cell.

With the launch of SunFuels in 2006, SunLine took ownership of its two fueling stations – becoming the first-ever transit agency to own and operate a hydrogen generation and dispensing station.

On Earth Day 2019, SunLine is celebrating its latest efforts to pioneer cutting edge alternative fuel technologies for public transportation with zero emissions. The SunLine Fuel Cell Buses & Hydrogen Onsite Regeneration Fueling Station Pilot Commercial Deployment Project deploys 5 new 40-foot fuel cell electric transit buses in daily service on two regular service routes in the Coachella Valley.  This project is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.

The project also includes upgrading SunLine’s existing Hydrogen Refueling Station with a new Electrolyzer Hydrogen Production Plant, supporting compression and storage equipment, and two 350-bar fueling dispensers. The station is currently under construction, with plans for a Summer 2019 completion.

For more information on the Earth Day event, contact Anita Petke at 760-343-3456 ext. 1603.

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