Today, for instance, ConocoPhillips said it will help with CleanFuel USA to install propane dispensers over the next three years at 76 stations. Conoco will supply the propane and CleanFuel will put in the pumps. How many will get installed? Who knows, but it does signify some effort on Conoco’s part.
Propane has lower greenhouse gas emissions, wheel-to-well, than gas or diesel and it’s comparatively cheap — it costs about $2.30 a gallon and you get federal tax credits on top of that. There’s a lot of it too. It’s not as clean as cellulosic ethanol, but it is available now.
To date, propane cars are largely only owned by fleets. Thus, some, if not most, of these pumps will be found at places where buses and truck congregate. Still, it could expand and both Ford and General Motors have signaled they will expand their propane programs.
There’s an estimated 10 million propane-fueled vehicles worldwide, but look for that number to rise if the fuel is available. CleanFuel officials say 1.5 billion gallons a year of propane could be put into the market immediately without hurting supplies.
New car buyers in the state of Washington are going to get a break on their sales taxes when they buy some vehicles that run on alternative fuels.
This story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says it’s expected to save them $18.6 million over the next couple of years and is designed to get people to trade in their old gas guzzlers (although, high gas prices ought to be enough incentive, right?):
The tax break, which takes effect Jan. 1, applies only to new vehicles. It also only covers cars and trucks getting at least 40 highway mpg, which includes the Prius and hybrid Honda Civic, but not the Toyota Camry or hybrid SUVs.
“What this law does is it helps people save some money to get them to choose a car that’s more fuel efficient — and that’s a good thing,” said Don Fahnestock, an owner of The Green Car Co., a Bellevue business that sells extra fuel-efficient vehicles.
The tax break (9.3 percent in the Seattle area) covers vehicles that run on natural gas, propane and hydrogen, as well as “neighborhood electric vehicles” or “medium speed vehicles” (street legal, but can’t go faster than 35 mph).
The incentive is for all vehicles purchased in and out of state between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2010. Washington residents can take still buy a car before the end of this year to get the sales tax exemption. They just have to wait to register and title their vehicles until after the first of the year.
Motorsports legend Jack Roush joined a group of auto company executives, fleet operators and propane marketers to demostrate to the press and public some propane-fueled vehicles in New York City.
The event was hosted by the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), and this press release from the council says a Ford propane F-150 pickup developed by Roush Industries was the demonstration vehicle:
“Aside from its superb engineering, this F-150 is a propane alternative-fueled vehicle that has an established refueling infrastructure to support it,” said Jack Roush, chairman of the board of Roush Enterprises and CEO and co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing, Livonia, Michigan. “It has lower greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline and diesel pickups and costs less to operate, and it contributes to the reduction of America’s dependency on foreign oil.”
The other propane-fueled on-road vehicles on display also drew a great deal of interest from fleet operators: a Blue Bird Vision school bus, a medium-duty General Motors truck, a Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser, and a Chrysler 300 sedan. “School administrators using the propane-fueled bus like its performance and its low operating costs,” said PERC Vice President Brian Feehan. The Blue Bird Propane-Powered Vision is factory-built to operate on propane and features the GM 8.1-liter V8 engine with a liquid propane injection system.
The release goes on to point out that, for a long time, propane has been a popular fuel for vehicles such as forklifts and some off-road vehicles. It’s now gaining more acceptance in fleet vehicles, such as buses, taxis and police vehicles. While propane is currently in 11 million vehicles, that number is expected to grow as the cost of conventional fuels and worries over greenhouse gases continue to rise. It’s estimated that propane could trim up to 30 percent of fleets’ fuel costs.
A top General Motors executive believes that natural gas could be a replacement for gasoline on U.S. roads in the near future.
This story from CNNMoney.com quotes GM’s top researcher who said that his company sees natural gas an “enticing” alternative to petroleum… and that means new interest in natural gas by the major American automaker:
“It is abundant, affordable and relatively clean,” Larry Burns, GM vice president of research and development, said in a posting on GM’s Fastlane blog.
The world’s auto makers are scrambling to find new, commercially viable alternatives to gasoline as the reality of $4-per-gallon gasoline wreaks havoc on the U.S. auto industry.
But while companies launch high-profile plans to shift toward battery power, hydrogen and ethanol, little has been said about natural gas. Natural gas is cleaner burning and about half as expensive as gasoline, but is also much harder to find and less efficient in terms of energy density.
“In the near term, we can use compressed natural gas in internal combustion engines,” Burns wrote. “In the long term, natural gas could be an excellent source for making hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles, either at the filling station or in people’s homes.”
This is not the first time GM has offered up ideas and practices to help wean us away from petroleum. The company has a large effort to attract drivers to their ethanol-powered vehicles, as well as development of the Chevrolet Volt, a battery-powered car, and vehicles that run on hydrogen.
This story from NPR says that the U.S. Postal Service has the largest fleet of alternatively-fueled vehicles in the country… 43,000 strong. And that’s just the beginning of its green efforts:
It’s using solar cells to power some buildings. It’s using eco-friendly packaging.
It’s so hip, it even has a vice president of sustainability.
Walt O’Tormey, USPS vice president of engineering, says this independent federal agency is pushing harder than most to move away from petroleum.
“We’re exploring all the alternatives in the marketplace for us, just to get out of gas consumption,” O’Tormey says. “And we know we owe the environment … to come up with a technology that does not impact the environment.”
This summer, the Postal Service is testing the latest generation of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles with General Motors.
“We’ll test anything!” O’Tormey says. “Propane, compressed natural gas, biodiesel, electric. We have electric vehicles delivering packages in midtown Manhattan, and we have plenty of test sites, from the Grand Canyon to Alaska.”
Considering that each one-cent increase in the cost of petroleum-based fuels costs the USPS $8 million more, it’s no wonder officials want to burn anything but non-renewable sources. Maybe it will help keep down the price of a stamp.
Alternative energy enthusiasts looking to see some renewable fuels in action can now access a vast array of demonstrations online. GreenEnergyTV.com describes itself as an Online Television Channel that allows millions of viewers worldwide to get plugged in to what’s going on with alternative energy.
Though having been launched only in January 2007, Green Energy TV now has viewers from 104 countries and 6 continents going to www.greenenergytv.com (Source: Google Analytics as of 10/07).
We know that people can and want to make a difference by showing and sharing with the world what they are doing to be green. We welcome companies, individuals, families, schools, kids, teachers and organizations to Upload & Watch videos on the site. It’s free to Upload & Watch videos. Our viewers can search and view the solutions that address their specific need. Videos are also sought from companies, inventors, colleges and universities with existing or breakthrough green energy technology that is waiting to be discovered and marketed to the world. We are a community and a network that is changing the world through Green Media coverage.
Videos we air include: Solar Energy, Wind Power, Hydro Power, Hydrogen, Fuels, Geothermal, Wave/Tidal Energy, Energy Conservation, Recycling, Hybrid vehicles, Organic, Green Building, Recycling, and more.
Michigan-based Metro Cars is converting the majority of it’s fleet to operate on propane fuel as part of its new Propane Initiative. The self-described leader of transportation in Michigan has also received an award for its propane conversion.
Because of their innovative use of propane to fuel their vehicles, Metro Cars has received the prestigious 2007 PROPANE Exceptional Energy Fleet Award; one of only THREE companies in the country to receive this award. Dan Ret, Chief Operating Officer stated that Metro Cars started the Propane Initiative not to win awards, but because it’s the right thing to do.
“As the largest and one of the most prestigious transportation companies in Michigan and North America, Metro Cars has always been on the cutting-edge of technology,” said Ret.
Metro Cars is committed to the preservation of Michigan’s environment. That’s why they are converting their fleet of luxury sedans and airport shuttles to clean propane technology.
Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay cut out of practice session two early, completing just 27 laps. Ryan finished with a best lap time of 25.7039 seconds at a speed of 212.886 mph during lap 11. He finished 16th. When Ryan took a look at the telemetry of his IndyCar, I asked him what his team was still working with on the car. He said the crew is still trying to get things into line and that they’re working on improving the grip.
Team Penske Driver Helio Castroneves posted the fastest lap during the second practice session with a best lap time of 25.3087 seconds at a speed of 216.210 mph. Target Chip Ganassi Racing Driver Scott Dixon secured second this time with a best lap time of 25.3523 seconds. Canadian Club Driver Dario Franchitti rounded out third with 25.3602 seconds.
Here’s an interesting application for propane that targets the dairy industry from a company that’s known for making gas fired appliances.
One of the companies that the Propane Education & Research Council is working with on some projects is Rinnai. One thing they’re doing that is real interesting is tankless water heaters.
As you’ll hear in my interview with Mike Peacock (left) and Kirk Morrow, they’re working with PERC on a project with some dairies to showcase how their technology can benefit the farm. Essentially they say it allows the dairy to replace boiler systems that can break down causing the dairy to be without hot water until it gets fixed. Their systems don’t have many moving parts and so they last a long time. Additionally they’re working with the dairies on some other applications like floor heating which would help northern dairies in the winter to keep floors from becoming slick and animals from slipping.
In my interview with Mike and Kirk they also provide some explanation of just how this tankless system works. You can listen to my interview with them here:
We think of propane as a cooking or heating fuel but how about mowers?
I met Chris Row with Manchester Tank here at Propane Days and we talked about mowers. Chris says that his company is working with several OEM’s to bring propane powered mowers to market. I think they’re focusing on mower fleets primarily at this point. He says they want to help build mowers that will run smoothly over rough terrain.
One of the benefits to using propane he says is in theft prevention. That’s not something I think most of us would think of but it’s a lot harder to steal propane than gas. He says that propane is also good from an environmental standpoint since if someone accidentally spills it you don’t have groundwater contamination. Chris also points out that with high gas prices right now propane is an economical alternative.
Chris says that his company is working with the Propane Education & Research Council to promote this idea and they’re hoping to start a project with a national park or university to help showcase what can be done with propane in this application.
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Alternative fuels might be getting a boost as a major fuel retailer will help make propane more available.
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Motorsports legend Jack Roush joined a group of auto company executives, fleet operators and propane marketers to demostrate to the press and public some propane-fueled vehicles in New York City.
“Aside from its superb engineering, this F-150 is a propane alternative-fueled vehicle that has an established refueling infrastructure to support it,” said Jack Roush, chairman of the board of Roush Enterprises and CEO and co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing, Livonia, Michigan. “It has lower greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline and diesel pickups and costs less to operate, and it contributes to the reduction of America’s dependency on foreign oil.”
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A top General Motors executive believes that natural gas could be a replacement for gasoline on U.S. roads in the near future.
Your mail could be delivered using green energy.
Alternative energy enthusiasts looking to see some renewable fuels in action can now access a vast array of demonstrations online. 
Michigan-based 
Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay cut out of practice session two early, completing just 27 laps. Ryan finished with a best lap time of 25.7039 seconds at a speed of 212.886 mph during lap 11. He finished 16th. When Ryan took a look at the telemetry of his IndyCar, I asked him what his team was still working with on the car. He said the crew is still trying to get things into line and that they’re working on improving the grip.
Here’s an interesting application for propane that targets the dairy industry from a company that’s known for making gas fired appliances.
We think of propane as a cooking or heating fuel but how about mowers?