Lowe's recently launched a dedicated fleet of natural gas-powered trucks at its regional distribution center in Mount Vernon, Texas.

With the transition from a diesel-fueled fleet to trucks powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), Lowe's expects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions nearly 20 percent and control fuel costs as it transports up to 68 truckloads each day to stores in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

"The transition to an NG-powered fleet was a natural step for Lowe's because of the economic and environmental benefits of natural gas," said Steve Palmer, Lowe's vice president of transportation. "Our goal is to replace all of our diesel-powered dedicated fleets with natural gas trucks by the end of 2017."

Lowe's is working with its truckload carriers to convert their Lowe's-dedicated fleets. The company began using natural gas trucks last year at its distribution center in Kissimmee, Fla., and teamed with longtime carrier partner NFI to lanch the natural gas dedicated fleet in Texas. Lowe's worked with Clean Energy to research the use of alternative fuels and accelerate the transition to natural gas.