California LNG plant that fuels Pasha Hawaii ships gets capacity boost

Clean Energy tanker refueling Pasha Hawaii LNG-fueled containership [Photo: Clean Energy]

Newport Beach, Calif., based Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) has completed construction of a third production train at its Boron, Calif., LNG plant, increasing its volume capacity by 50%. Already the largest plant of its kind in the Southwest U.S., the Boron plant now has the capacity to produce up to 270,000 gallons of LNG every day. The addition of the third production train at the California LNG plant will allow the supply of LNG to meet growing demand from customers looking to decarbonize everything from city buses to large containerships.

An important Clean Energy customer, Pasha Hawaii, is now operating three LNG-fueled container ships out of the ports of Long Beach, Oakland and Honolulu. The volume of fuel used by the three ships. George II, George III and Janet Marie has grown from 526,486 gallons of LNG for the month of August 2022 when Pasha Hawaii’s first LNG-powered ship was commissioned, to 2,115,726 gallons in April 2024.

Operating on LNG, the Pasha Hawaii ships surpass the International Maritime Organizations (IMO) 2030 standards for ocean vessels with zero sulfur emissions. Pasha’s LNG ships also obtain a 90% reduction in NOx and 25% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to ships running on conventional fuels.

“Pasha Hawaii’s leadership in sustainable shipping has grown with the commissioning of their third LNG-powered ship,” said Greg Roche, vice president at Clean Energy. “By growing their LNG-fueled fleet, they are reducing pollution and carbon emissions around the ports and showing that LNG can work as effectively as their fuel oil counterpart. The addition of more LNG production at our Boron, California, LNG plant will give us the capacity to allow other customers the ability to decarbonize their operations.”

“We are dedicated to employing today’s most innovative resources and technologies to ensure the cleanest operations possible in the communities we serve,” said George Pasha, IV, President and CEO, The Pasha Group. “We are proud to continue our partnership with Clean Energy to efficiently bunker and fuel our three LNG-powered container ships in the Pasha Hawaii fleet, which are among the most technologically advanced and environmentally friendly vessels to serve Hawaii and California.”