Filed under: Austin Alt Car Expo
Austin Alt Car: Propane participates proudly
One of the more organized presences at the first Austin Alt Car expo this past weekend was from the Texas propane community. From propane-powered lawnmowers to a giant propane-powered school bus, you couldn't miss the vehicles. Three pro-propane groups - the Texas Propane Educational & Marketing Foundation, the Propane Education & Research Council, and the Alternative Fuels Research & Education Division of the Railroad Commission of Texas - came together to showcase ways to burn propane for transportation. There are currently about 8,000 propane vehicles in the state, and around 200,000 in the entire U.S. See, for example, the ProPane Chevelle and compare the local numbers with 10 million propane/liquid petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles around the world.One thing the partnership wanted to do at the Alt Car was highlight the possibility of converting vehicles on the road today to burn propane. A lot of big GM and Ford vehicles can be converted using "EPA certified conversion kits," for example. In Texas, at least, filling the tank with propane is feasible in a lot of places; there are 750 stations offering propane in the state.
[Source: Texas Propane]
PRESS RELEASE:
October 20, 2008
Propane Expanded Green Vehicle Options Highlighted at Austin AltCar Expo
(Austin, TX )The Texas Propane Educational & Marketing Foundation (TPEMF) in partnership with the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) and the Alternative Fuels Research & Education Division of the Railroad Commission of Texas (AFRED) joined forces this past weekend to participate in the AltCar Expo in Austin, TX.
The propane industry took part in the AltCar Expo to educate school districts, state agencies, cities, county transits, and other fleet operators on how propane powered vehicle options have expanded and how they can save money and keep our air clean.
There are over 10 million propane-powered on road vehicles in the world, 200,000 in U.S., and over 8,000 in Texas including taxi cabs, police vehicles, delivery trucks, school buses, shuttles, and other fleets.
At our propane pavilion and Ride N Drive, we had a number of propane powered vehicles on-road and off-road applications available including the Blue Bird Propane Powered School Bus, Roush F-150 dedicated propane pick, dual fuel F150 pick up, GMC Topkick medium duty truck, and propane lawn mowers. There are numerous other EPA certified conversion kits available from 2003-2008 model years on many Ford and GM models from pick ups to vans.
Not only are their more vehicle options today, but propane is cost effective. Propane fuel typically costs 30-50 % less than gasoline and diesel.
In addition to fuel savings, propane is also environmentally friendly and we have one of the cleanest alternative fuel medium duty vehicles on the market. Propane vehicles produce less carbon monoxide, NOx, hydrocarbons, and GHG emissions than gasoline and diesel engines.
Propane also offers convenience with more than 750 refueling stations across the state of Texas and 2500 across the US; propane is the most accessible alternative fuel available. The infrastructure is already in place.
Dependency on foreign oil is something that has affected our country for a long time and is having an even bigger impact on Americans today. Luckily, we have an environmentally and inexpensive resource...propane, right here in Texas that could play a significant role in decreasing our dependence on foreign oil. Ninety percent of propane is produced in the United States with over 1/3 produced right here in the Lone Star State. Texas also houses the world's largest storage of propane in the country. All in all, propane offers a great alternative to gasoline and diesel for in cost, environmentally-friendliness and convenience. For more information, visit www.txpropane.com.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gorr 2:08PM (10/20/2008)
It could be a step toward the hydrogen gas made from water electrolysis economy proposed by mosus many tousand years ago. You install a compressed gas tank in the car and some fittings to burn propane and later on, a simple and naive new entreprenor install a gazeous hydrogen filling machine of 10 000$-20 000$ at a grocery store where this hydrogen is made almost free with the latest solar panels that convert water to hydrogen gas and sell that stuff for very cheap and it end pollution and high energy cost for filling my car. Eco-fueler said that we can put hydrogen in the eco-fueler instead of natural gas.
Reply
JamesWB 7:19AM (10/21/2008)
Now if you'd said CNG or LNG made from bio waste in an anaerobic digester rather than hydrogen you would look less daft.
GenWaylaid 6:13PM (10/20/2008)
Hank Hill would be proud.
Reply
Alex López 2:53PM (10/21/2008)
PICTURES PLEASE!
Reply
Chris Nuez 3:29PM (2/12/2009)
I think propane is the way to go... it's happening everywhere. I just read about this company called LEHR (www.golehr.com) that uses those little green propane tanks to power lawn tools - no more gasoline!
Reply