Jim Fair
The ceremonial groundbreaking took place at the Spire Natural Gas Fueling site at S. Highway 101. Left to right: Greer Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Mark Owens, Greer CPW Engineering and Planning Manager Randy Olson, Greer City Administrator Ed Driggers, Spire COO Peter Stansky, Siemens Alternative Energy Project Director Scott Keeley and Greer Mayor Rick Danner.
Jim Fair
Scott Keeley, Alternative Energy Project Director for Siemens, led Spire to Greer for the compressed natural gas site at 85 Freeman Farm Road behind a QuikTrip travel center on S. Highway 101 and I-85.
Jim Fair
CPW Commissioner Perry Williams, an advocate for alternative fuels, gives David Benner, left, of Mainstay Fuel Technologies, a look at where CNG will be fueled in his newly acquired GMC factory-produced alternative fuel vehicle.
Jim Fair
Darrell Hice of Swift Transportation shows the cylinders that hold compressed natural gas.
Spire, a natural gas fueling solutions company, came to Greer Thursday to claim its stake in becoming a hub for vehicles – trucks and automobiles – traveling the I-85 corridor.
“It’s like the chicken and the egg, which came first?” Peter Stansky, COO of Spire, said. “Do you build vehicles with CNG capability first or do you build a fast-fill station first. We believe the if you build it (CNG station) they will come.”
The CNG station is being constructed at 85 Freeman Farm Road, just behind a QuikTrip travel center – the first of its kind in the Upstate – at the intersection of S. Highway 101 and I-85. The QT will have expanded parking and certified scales.
The CNG site will accommodate four tractor trailers on each of the three islands to be installed. CNG will pump 15 gas gallons equivalent in one minute. Spire has bought property anticipating more growth for expansion.
QT is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2015 and the CNG site in the third quarter.
“We kept the drivers in mind at every point designing this station,” Stansky said. “We know drivers are on a busy schedule and a convenient, reliable fueling experience is important. That is why we are installing fast flow fuel dispensers to keep them moving throughout their day,” Stansky said.
Scott Keeley, Alternative Energy Project Director for Siemens, was the person who brought the idea of Greer becoming the hub for vehicles using CNG. Keeley lives in Charlotte and the many roundtrips between his home and Atlanta always seemed to keep bringing him back to Greer. Siemans is constructing the site.
There was unique opportunities of convergence with a number of factors here,” Keeley said.
“You have to have a good natural gas supply and we found that with CPW. What that means is there was a robust natural gas line, a 12-inch steel pipe.
“It was situated on I-85 which obviously is a trucking corridor. In addition to that there are a very large number of trucking terminals located directly in this area.”
Keeley said Greer is booming because it is more of a logistics center. “With the inland port, and Greer’s proximity between Charlotte and Atlanta, and then BMW and Mercedes suppliers and people bringing parts and supplies it was already an excellent center.”
A Swift Transportation truck, bought new for CNG, and a GMC factory built pickup owned by CPW Commissioner Perry Williams, an advocate for alternative fuel use, were the visuals.
This is another economic driver for Greer, Williams said. “This stimulates a section of the economy we heretofore have not been involved in.”
Williams also has been an advocate for U.S. independence on foreign fuel. “This is something I have believed in in a long time,” he said. “Now we power our own cars and trucks.”
Mainstay Fuel Technologies, based in Greer, makes components for the conversion kits assembled on automobiles and trucks.
“I was showing David (Benner from Mainstay) under the hood and he said he recognized some parts he made for the conversion,” Williams said.
Mayor Rick Danner, at a luncheon welcoming the companies in the project, said their investment will be historic. “2065, that will be 60 years from now. Greer, South Carolina will be the premier distribution and logistics location in the southeast, bar none.”
CORRECTION: It was reported earlier that the CNG site in Greer would be one of the five biggest in the United States and Spire's most productive. Peter Stansky, COO of Spire, said his company does not have data supporting that report.