Alternative fuel center to open at O'Hare International Airport

An alternative fuel station will open at O’Hare International Airport in early 2016 offering taxis, shuttle buses and everyday drivers fast-charging electric stations, alternative fuels and conventional gasoline.

The fueling station complex will include a “travel center” featuring a convenience store, a quick-serve drive-though and walk-in restaurant, a car wash, flight information displays, an ATM and Wi-Fi.

The 4,000-square-foot complex will be at the southeast corner of Higgins Road and Patton Drive, Chicago Department of Aviation officials said in a news release Monday.

In addition to conventional gasoline, the fueling station will offer compressed natural gas, biodiesel, and fast-charge charging stations for electric vehicles.

According to the aviation department, an increasing number of vehicles using the airport are powered by alternative fuels, including taxis and hotel and rental car shuttles. However, the center also will be open to the general public.

The center will be built and operated by PMG Airport Developers, a company that has built and operated other airport travel plazas, and Clean Energy Fuels, an alternative fuel provider.

The aviation department will receive a base rent of $100,000 for the land and 5 percent of gross sales, the aviation department said in a news release.

“Providing better access to alternative fuels at O’Hare provides multiple benefits for the City and the public,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel is quoted as saying in the news release.

“We are able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, while at the same time generating revenue.”

“This fueling station will promote the use of clean fuels and electricity to power our vehicles, which is in line with Mayor Emanuel’s vision for a ‘greener’ Chicago,” City Aviation Department Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino said in the news release.

Plans for the center also were announced Monday at the Airports Going Green Conference, hosted annually by the Aviation Department and the American Association of Airport Executives.