Hybrid autos get lift in WNC - 09/02/09
Asheville Citizen-Times: Hybrid autos get lift in WNC
ASHEVILLE — A city propane company is heading up an $8.6 million federal stimulus project to convert vehicles to propane fuel and build a network of propane gas stations across the Southeast.
Alliance AutoGas, a partnership between city-based Blossman Gas and New York company American Alternative Fuel, will lead a public/private coalition to add hybrid propane fuel systems to about 1,500 vehicles and install 17 propane gas stations stretching from Washington, D.C., to Mississippi, Blossman president Stuart Weidie said. He is also the CEO of Alliance AutoGas.
Though the gas has not yet gained the prominence of other alternative fuels, Weidie expects propane to catch on when motorists see how cheap and clean it is. The project is expected to create 350 jobs across the Southeast, including several at a city auto shop.
“It's a cleaner burning fuel and our country in recent years has reawakened, particularly about the environmental impact of transportation,” Weidie said.
“I think there has to be multiple options to attack the issues with our transportation sector, multiple alternative fuels, and we certainly believe propane autogas is one of the more viable (options) today.”
Blossman has been working to develop and promote propane as an alternative fuel on and off since the gas shortages of the 1970s.
Weidie said interest in the fuel has grown over the past year from private and government agencies that operate large vehicle fleets. Propane fuel costs up to $1.30 less per gallon than gasoline and has much lower carbon emissions, making it an attractive alternative for those looking to save money and lessen their impact on the environment.
But with the onset of the recession, many companies found it prohibitive to spend the $5,800 it costs to add a propane fuel system to a vehicle.
That prompted Alliance AutoGas to team up with Virginia's Department of Energy in applying for part of $300 million in federal stimulus money designated for alternative fuel development. Blossman has seven locations in Virginia and has previously worked with officials in the state's Clean Cities program to develop propane as a viable fuel option.
The stimulus grant will pay for the installation of the 17 propane fueling stations where technicians will also convert vehicles to a hybrid propane system. The money also covers the cost of conversion for 1,500 vehicles in large fleets across the Southeast.
Wiedie expects the program to create about 350 jobs, including workers to install the propane stations and service technicians.
German Motor Werks of Asheville will be one of those fueling stations, and technicians at the Sweeten Creek Road service center have already performed several propane system conversions for Blossman customers.
Technicians install a propane tank in the trunk of a car then attach it to a separate fuel system, shop owner Scott Spence said.
“It's a piggy-back fuel-injection system in the car, essentially you have two separate fueling systems in the car,” he said.
