Sustainable Fleet Technology Conference – Raleigh, NC, August 14-16 2023
Providers and leaders in fleet technology assembled in Raleigh, NC, to share industry ideas, trends and strategies that improve sustainability of fleet operations.
Stuart Weidie, President and CEO of Alliance AutoGas, had two opportunities to present the significance of using propane autogas for vehicle fleets. With high attendance in both presentations, Advancements in Medium/Heavy-Duty Vehicles and Infrastructure & New Models for Fueling and Charging, Stuart was able to raise awareness of the uses autogas right now and for the future. He discussed the availability of vast vehicle platforms offered, easy deployment of infrastructure, and the approaching availability of renewable propane. Garnering many questions and comments, it was apparent that Stuart sparked the interest of those in attendance.
Michael Naglieri, Fleet Maintenance Manager with Davidson County Transportation, offered one of his vehicles at the conference to represent Alliance AutoGas. The 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, with an AAG bi-fuel system equipped, attracted many attendees to the vehicle. Michael knows and has seen the true results of using propane autogas for a transportation fleet, which truly resonated with others interested in learning more. Michael said his time at the conference was a great opportunity to raise awareness, “Using propane autogas is a solution that other fleet agencies can take advantage of right now. Being able to help the environment and increase fuel savings allows us to do many things we would not be able to do without the use of propane autogas. And working with Alliance AutoGas gives us a peace of mind that we are making a difference”.
The 2023 Green Fleet Awards, presented by The NAFA Fleet Management Association, recognized Alliance AutoGas customer Blossman Gas, Inc. as the #48 fleet in North America. The Green Fleet Awards recognizes peak-performing fleet sustainability efforts and honors fleets who have enhanced practices to make a positive impact on the environment. Blossman Gas, Inc. has implemented green initiatives and sustainability practices as an organization, while continuing to advocate the use of propane autogas as an alternative fuel. Another customer of Alliance AutoGas, Chesterfield County, VA, came in at #27. They were also awarded a special acknowledgement for their fleet as Best Fuel Technology Integration.
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A Letter from Alliance AutoGas President 2022
March 11, 2022
Americans are scrambling again to adjust to rapidly escalating costs for gasoline and diesel. These costs have been creeping into the supply chain for months, affecting everything from food to clothing and medications. The best solution available right here and right now is in plain sight – propane autogas – a transportation fuel used by more than 29 million vehicles globally.
Economic Efficiency
AutoGas has 50% less CO2 emissions than an electric vehicle when considering the source of electricity in our country. The fuel cost savings are an average of 35% lower than gasoline and autogas is domestically produced. Sadly, we are exporting enough propane out of the United States to fuel more than 5 million commercial vehicles.
Domestic Energy
Global issues and disruptions in far-away lands are affecting the lives of people here at home. These events illustrate that energy security is important. It has been for decades. Why wouldn’t our US fleets use a transportation fuel that is better for the environment, more cost effective than traditional fuels, and reduces our dependence on foreign countries? Every company moving essential products and providing services should ask themselves this question.
Alliance AutoGas is ready to help your company make a transition to autogas, with our world-class technology that can be installed on new or existing vehicles. Don’t change the vehicle, change the fuel and make the switch to propane autogas now.
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Alliance AutoGas (AAG), a national alternative fuel company based in Asheville, NC, and Bass Pro Shop’s Big Cedar Lodge, a premier Wilderness Resort in the Ozark Mountains, are highlighting their new partnership at this year’s NTEA Work Truck Week (WTW22) event. An autogas hybrid Big Cedar shuttle van will be displayed in the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) booth. Work Truck Week, North America’s largest work truck event presented by the National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA), takes place March 8–11, 2022, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Located in Ridgedale, MO, Big Cedar was ranked as the “#1 Resort in the Midwest” for four years in a row in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards. AAG, in collaboration with the Missouri Propane Gas Association, partnered with Big Cedar in November of 2021 to convert two of their guest shuttles to autogas. Autogas, the third most popular automotive fuel in the world, is the name for propane when used as a vehicle fuel. When compared to gasoline, autogas substantially reduces greenhouse gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, non-methane hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide. From transporting its guests between their resort golf courses, to picking up guests from the airport, Big Cedar shuttles stay on the road 18 hours a day. Each one of the converted vans runs an average of 120,000 miles per year, resulting in CO2 emissions reductions from one van alone being the equivalent of 584 trash bags of waste being recycled instead of going to the landfill, or the carbon sequestered by 16.8 acres of US forest in one year.
The passenger shuttle on display is a 2021 Chevrolet G3500 with 6.6 liter direct-injected engine, converted with an Alliance Engineered System featuring technology from Prins, a pioneer in fuel system development for more than 35 years. The autogas shuttles in the Big Cedar fleet are bi-fuel, hybrid vehicles, also operating on gasoline, eliminating range anxiety. AAG is the exclusive distributor of Prins Alternative Fuel Systems in the US.
Josh Budworth, Business Development Manager for AAG, says “Big Cedar Lodge has an outstanding team that is committed to focusing on sustainability throughout their entire operation. We are excited to partner with Big Cedar to develop their autogas program and look forward to helping them reduce their carbon footprint.”
AAG will be holding a press conference on Wednesday, March 9th in the Propane Education & Research Council booth #5591 beginning at 3:10 p.m. The event will cover the autogas program in further detail and showcase one of the Big Cedar converted autogas shuttles.
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While it is often assumed that full electrification of our energy sources will lead to full decarbonization, there has been little thought on how electricity is currently generated, stored, transmitted, and consumed. Electricity is a delivery method of energy, not an energy source itself. Based on the state average energy mix for electricity generation and assuming a 10 percent charging loss, the graphs below show the carbon intensity of electricity compared to conventional and renewable propane.
Read the full study HERE. Download the chart HERE.
Graphs Below Represent the Carbon Intensity of Electricity Compared to Conventional and Renewable Propane
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Renewable propane is significantly lowering emissions in even more states with Virginia investing in their first gallons. The city of Petersburg’s police and shuttle vehicle fleets, partnered with Alliance AutoGas, are converting 49 vehicles from gasoline to run on the even cleaner, ultra-low emissions energy source. Representatives from Virginia Clean Cities, Alliance AutoGas, Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) and the City of Petersburg attended a ceremonial ribbon-cutting event on 9/23/2021 to speak on the importance of the fuel technology.
“We want to celebrate and acknowledge the leadership that made this move to clean energy possible,” said Alleyn Harned, director at Virginia Clean Cities. “Transportation represents Virginia’s highest area of harmful emissions and is the costliest energy sector. Renewable propane is a major step forward to reduce emissions and lower the city’s fleet operating costs. As a transportation fuel, renewable propane brings improved energy security for Virginia and the region.”
Vehicle fleets around the nation have been significantly lowering their emissions by running on conventional propane autogas for decades. Now, renewable propane is growing in popularity as an even more sustainable and carbon neutral energy source. Propane autogas vehicles operating with renewable propane have a lower lifetime carbon footprint than electric vehicles charged using the electric grid in Virginia. Plus, they’re able to provide these low-emissions benefits at a fraction of the cost of electric vehicles.
“Renewable liquid fuels will be an important factor in reducing transportation sector emissions in the next 30 years,” said Stuart Weidie, CEO of Blossman Gas, the founding member of Alliance AutoGas. “The carbon intensity of renewable propane is lower than a battery electric vehicle and provides both a near and longer-term option to provide positive benefits for our environment. I am grateful for all the progression we have made to get to this point today and look forward to continuing our advancement with renewable propane.”
“Renewable propane autogas is already being used with great success by several fleets throughout the nation,” said Tucker Perkins, president and CEO of PERC. “Widespread use would significantly magnify emissions reductions today without additional costly infrastructure upgrades. Because the chemical structure and physical properties are the same as conventional propane, renewable propane can be used for all the same applications.”
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With gas prices rising and emissions regulations growing, both sustainability leaders and fleet managers are emphasizing the need to accelerate decarbonization today by utilizing renewable fuels, including propane. Energy leaders, especially those in the propane industry, are looking at the viability and production of renewable propane in the United States right now. Nearly identical to traditional propane in terms of its chemical structure and physical properties, there is only one big exception: it’s not made from fossil fuels. As a result, renewable propane solves a variety of environmental problems while offering the additional benefits of traditional propane.
The environmental advantages of renewable fuels are easy to find. Recycling cooking oil and meat fats into biodiesel and renewable propane helps cut the amount of waste deposited into landfills. An additional benefit is that it can be scaled up while remaining an ultra-low carbon intensity process. In vehicle engines, renewable propane has a carbon intensity of 19%, which is five times better than diesel and gasoline. Also, renewable propane’s carbon intensity score is 14, compared to 39 for an electric vehicle, 78 for fossil propane and 86 for gasoline.
and service, has been at the forefront of utilizing renewable propane since 2018. To date, 12 million gallons of renewable propane have brought into the transportation sector between Blossman Gas and Blue Star Gas, a West Coast partner to Blossman. Mobile County Public School Systems (MCPSS) in Alabama has over 200 autogas buses in its fleet currently. MCPSS transports around 26,000 students daily during the school year, and Blossman Gas provides the propane to fuel the buses. In 2018, Blossman Gas and MCPSS partnered together to begin utilizing renewable propane in the county school buses.
When looking at operational benefits, autogas has an edge over other alternative fueled vehicles, such as electric buses. Autogas buses don’t have the range restrictions of electricity, which could require buses to return to recharge in the middle of a route. This could be a key factor this upcoming school year, as routes may change from day to day depending on potential pandemic-related student schedules. See more benefits HERE.
Director of Transportation at MCPSS. “We were excited for the opportunity to fuel our buses with renewable propane. Reducing our carbon footprint and providing a clean bus ride for our students is vital to what we want to accomplish in our school bus fleet.”
Stuart Weidie, CEO of Blossman Gas, is excited when he looks to the future of the propane industry. Weidie says “If we expect to grow gallons while ignoring public perception and policymakers’ goals, we risk losing the status as a viable energy source in the future. It is past time that we initiate a serious discussion on renewable propane if we intend to position our energy source as a modern fuel.”
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A new study is debunking the common perception that EVs are “zero-emissions” vehicles and offer the lowest emissions in medium- and heavy-duty fleet vehicles. In most of the United States, propane autogas produces fewer emissions than comparable electric vehicles. Among other benefits compared to electric vehicles, autogas is reliable in all climates. From extreme temperatures to hurricane season, you can count on autogas to always perform.
As the study shows, there is no such thing as a “zero-emissions” vehicle. In a comparative analysis conducted by the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC), researchers found propane-powered medium- and heavy-duty vehicles provide a lower carbon footprint solution in 38 US states and Washington, DC when compared to medium- and heavy-duty EVs charged using the electric grid in those states. When comparing the difference in life-cycle equivalent carbon dioxide (CO2eq) emissions of a single medium-duty vehicle, propane autogas on a national average emits 125 tons of CO2eq less than an electric medium-duty vehicle.
As we move forward, propane autogas will continue to improve environmentally by leaps and bounds through new engine developments and renewable propane. One of the many benefits is that it can be scaled up while remaining an ultra-low carbon intensity process. In vehicle engines, renewable propane has a carbon intensity of 19%, which is five times better than diesel and gasoline. Also, renewable propane’s carbon intensity score is 14, compared to 39 for an electric vehicle, 78 for fossil propane and 86 for gasoline.
To learn more about the comparative analysis, read Steve Whaley, Director of Autogas Business Development at PERC, full writeup on the study by clicking HERE.
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Alliance AutoGas (AAG), a national coalition of businesses providing the fuel, technology, and ongoing support to autogas fleets across the country, and Northeast Tennessee Rural Public Transportation (NET Trans) recently received the 2020 Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Award for their joint efforts in improving the air quality in Eastern TN.
NET Trans provides door to door, non-emergency transportation to anyone requesting a ride. Their vehicle fleet is equipped with wheelchair lifts and able to serve customers with disabilities throughout their footprint. The company is a not for profit, working as part of the First Tennessee Human Resource Agency, and serves numerous counties in the northeast region of Tennessee, along with urbanized areas outside the city limits for Bristol, Kingsport, and Johnson City. In 2016, NET Trans implemented an autogas program with AAG and continues to support the surrounding community with their fleet of autogas transit vans. This past September, NET Trans opened its third refueling center at the U-Haul location in Kingsport, TN. Candace Long, Director of NET Trans says, “We continue to see a need for our service, and autogas is helping us fulfill that need. Our region is seeing the benefit in fueling our transit vehicles with propane autogas.”
Autogas is the most widely used alternative fuel in world, with over 23 million drivers on the road globally. Its many benefits include the reduction of harmful tailpipe emissions such as CO2, greenhouse gases, and NOx, the cost savings per gallon vs gasoline or diesel, and in the U.S., the opportunity to use a domestic fuel. 99% of our nation’s propane autogas is produced in North America, meaning fleets that use the alternative fuel are also increasing American energy security. In addition, on average, autogas costs about 30% less at the pump than gasoline at any given time. Even during spikes in the price of crude oil, the relationship between the price of gasoline and autogas have held steady, keeping autogas as a viable solution for vehicle fleets wanting to make a positive environmental impact today.
The Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Awards recognize outstanding initiatives to improve the efficiency, accessibility, affordability, and sustainability of transportation systems in the state. “We congratulate these winners who are on the cutting edge of possibilities in sustainability in transportation,” says David Salyers, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). “Their innovation and achievements come in many forms, but all share the goal of a better environment, and our state benefits from their example.”
NET Trans was additionally named the 2017 winner of the annual Propane Autogas Fleet Award from the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC). The award recognized NET Trans’ strong commitment and successful transition to propane use as a member of fleet transit. Jessica Johnson, Partner and Projects Liaison for AAG says, “Seeing what NET Trans has been able to do for their community in such a short time, is such an inspiration for other fleets who want to improve the air quality in their own communities. Cleaner air is made possible, one autogas vehicle at a time, and we are honored to be part of that process.”
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Since 1961, Roy Jorgensen Associates (Jorgensen) has provided maintenance consultant services, facility maintenance operations, and roadway maintenance services throughout the United States. One of the roadway programs Jorgensen oversees is the Road Ranger Service Patrol Fleet. The Road Ranger fleet provides incident management response services and limited no-cost highway assistance to motorists to improve highway safety for emergency responders and the motoring public. In 2015, Jorgensen collaborated with Alliance AutoGas (AAG) to begin a pilot propane autogas program. Autogas, the name for propane when used as a vehicle fuel, has many benefits including decreased fuel cost per gallon, greater vehicle uptime, and reduced harmful emissions.
“After learning about the work Jorgensen was doing with the Road Ranger fleet and how much mileage their fleet puts on throughout a year, I knew AAG could offer a great autogas program that would improve their operation,” says Ed Hoffman, president of Blossman Services, the autogas system distribution partner of AAG. The autogas vehicles used by the Road Ranger fleet operate throughout Florida’s southeastern coast. There are approximately 40 autogas vehicles in the Road Ranger fleet, and since beginning their program in 2015, the fleet recently celebrated refueling with their one millionth gallon of autogas this past July.
“Our autogas program has been an eye-opener on what alternative fuel can do for fleets,” says Ernie Molina, Vice President for Roy Jorgensen Associates. “The cost saving benefit compared to diesel or gasoline was evident, however, the other benefits make a big difference for the Road Ranger fleet.” One of those benefits include AAG providing the infrastructure for a personal refueling center. “The maintenance vehicles have to refuel often, as they’re providing service 24/7 every day of the year. Having access to our own refueling station for whenever we need it is a game changer,” says Molina.
From extreme temperatures to hurricane season, the Florida climate requires durable transportation. The majority of the vehicles in the Road Ranger Patrol Fleet travel over 100,000 miles per year. “One aspect that we like about our autogas vehicles and working with AAG is how reliable the systems are. We can count on our autogas vehicles no matter what the weather conditions are, and we do not have to worry about fuel prices inflating like gasoline or diesel. We also save on things such as DEF fluid.”
Another key aspect Jorgensen was interested in when they started the autogas pilot program was making a difference environmentally. Propane-converted vehicles emit 25 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than vehicles running on gasoline and 80 percent fewer smog-producing hydrocarbon emissions than vehicles running on diesel. For the Road Ranger fleet, using over a million gallons of autogas is the equivalent to planting 280,761 trees that grow for ten years according to EPA calculations.
When asked about surpassing one million gallons of autogas, Molina says “Knowing the environmental difference Jorgensen and the Road Ranger fleet has made by using a million gallons of autogas is quite remarkable. Jorgensen continues to be impressed by the Road Ranger autogas program and we will be mindful of what autogas can provide moving forward.” Hoffman of Blossman Services adds “Jorgensen has been a great partner to work with. The Road Ranger fleet is a great example of autogas shinning in vehicles putting on high mileage, often in extreme weather conditions, and working around the clock.”
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Also known as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), autogas is the common name for when propane is used as a fuel for an on-road vehicle. Autogas is composed of three parts carbon and eight parts hydrogen making it a highly efficient, low carbon producing fuel.
Where does it come from and how does it work?
Over ninety-nine percent of autogas is produced in America, increasing energy security by reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil. Autogas comes from two domestic processes: it is a by-product of both natural gas processing and the crude oil refining process. Propane is stored as a liquid in a relatively low-pressure tank and travels along a fuel line into the engine compartment. The supply of propane to the engine is controlled by a regulator or vaporizer, which converts the liquid propane to a vapor. The vapor is fed to a mixer located near the intake manifold, where it is metered and mixed with filtered air before being drawn into the combustion chamber where it’s burned to produce power.
Is it an alternative fuel?
Autogas is an approved, alternative clean fuel listed in the 1990 Clean Air Act and National Energy Policy act of 1992. In fact, autogas burns cleaner than gasoline, is largely produced in the United States, and lowers fuel costs when compared to traditional gasoline and diesel.
Is using autogas in my vehicle safe?
Made from high carbon steel, autogas vehicle tanks are 20 times more puncture resistant than conventional plastic gasoline tanks. Autogas is nontoxic, nonpoisonous, not a groundwater contaminant, and has the lowest flammability range of any alternative fuel including gasoline. Autogas is safe and meets the same standards for safety as conventionally fueled vehicles.
Is it environmentally friendly?
One of the best reasons to switch to autogas is that it is an environmentally friendly fuel. Autogas is a cleaner-burning fuel that provides less harmful emissions than gasoline. Autogas can reduce carbon monoxide emissions by up to 20 percent, nitrous oxide emissions by up to 40 percent, and carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 18 percent.
What are the benefits?
Autogas has a number of benefits in several areas such as:
It is less expensive than gasoline or diesel.
It produces fewer harmful greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline or diesel.
Drivers report that compared to conventional gasoline, autogas provides superior performance and equivalent power.
Over a vehicle’s lifetime, autogas provides more vehicle uptime because it’s a clean-burning alternative fuel that doesn’t require the same expensive repairs and replacement parts compared to other fuels such as diesel.
It is domestically produced, increasing America’s energy security.
Refueling infrastructure can be customized to fit each autogas fleet’s individual needs.
Want to learn more about what Alliance AutoGas can do for your fleet? Contact us today!
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