The Leeds Alternative Fuel Station (LAFS)

The Council's base requirement for this project shall be the provision of a CNG and LNG station hooked up to the high pressure (HP) gas main, to enable the large scale conversion of city based council owned vehicles that conduct daily 'back to depot', cyclical operations. The idea behind this scheme is that the Council will act as an 'enabler', to attract commercial interest in developing the station, by providing a baseload to the finished station, by virtue of a CNG offtake agreement with the operator, who will be identified via this competitive process.

The Council is further enabling the project by providing the land upon which the station will be developed and subsequently, operated. This land will be leased to the winning bidder. In addition, the HP gas main connection costs will be covered by the Council initially, using money from Northern Gas Network's (NGN's) Network Innovation Competition funding. This will then be paid back over a period of time via the station's operational proceeds. By providing land and a valid connection from the onset, the Council will remove the need for the developer to provide as much upfront capital, hence reducing the risk profile of the venture.

The station's purpose is to prove the concept of CNG infrastructure via a 'build it and they will come' approach. The notion is that this will then attract further interest from other large van and HGV fleet operators in Leeds, who will be empowered to buy CNG vehicles, emboldened and inspired by the existence of actual infrastructure for large scale CNG supply in the city. This will then benefit both the Council and the station operator.

Although the principal fuel required at the station will be CNG, the Council wants the station to represent a sustainable distribution centre, which is why the station is being referred to as an 'alternative fuel station'. As a bare minimum the station must include CNG and LNG. The Council would also like the station to include a reasonable number of bays with rapid EV charger points where possible. Furthermore, there is an aspiration for the station to have infrastructure set aside for the provision of hydrogen gas in order to future proof the possible expansion of this fuel as a vehicular option in the future.

The anticipated contract value - in terms of the Council's possible gas offtake - is a range between £7.5M and £20M, over the total contractual term of 10 years plus the potential extensions, which account for a further 15 years (25 years overall).