Renewable propane is already hard at work in the world of propane-fueled engines, with a blend that’s 30% renewable.
Useful for first responders, public transportation and beyond, propane autogas vehicles produce far fewer emissions than other popular transportation fuels. That’s the part you already know. Now, add to that the fact that propane’s octane level (higher than gasoline’s) provides more power and extended engine life with the added benefits of being a part of the renewable energy family.
The market for heavy-duty vehicles sees limitations and challenges in determining which fuels work best for certain types of vehicles. The key is finding the right fuel for the right job. And, to be clear, we need all of these fuels in order to address climate change: from biofuels to renewable liquid gases to electricity generated from wind and solar.
A research study conducted by Georgia State University, and shared here by PERC, revealed that reducing emissions for a school district’s entire fleet could lead to a 7.8% gain in English test scores.
The study was successful in achieving its objective, which was to demonstrate that “cleaner-running school buses can make a positive difference” for students who ride them daily. The reduction in “particulate matter that contributes to allergies, asthma, and lung cancer—especially in children” and subsequential improvement in those students’ overall health were the basis for this estimate in academic improvement.
Propane autogas can achieve these reductions at an affordable price for school districts. The approximate cost to set up infrastructure for 10 electric vehicles with five level 3 fast EV chargers can reach $480,000. By contrast, a 1,000- to 2,000-gallon propane tank can 10 autogas vehicles with an upfront investment of only about $60,000.
Propane for service vans, shuttles, agricultural transportation, moving and excavation vehicles and other commercial fleets will continue to show improvements on both the environmental and public health fronts as the integration of renewable propane continues. Renewable propane provides farms, construction companies, commercial spaces and vehicle fleets with an alternative energy source offering further reductions in diesel particulates and emissions. Already, we are seeing renewable propane autogas arriving in New York, Connecticut, California, Washington and Oregon, among other places.
 PROPANE VEHICLES (Autogas) | |
| 1 | Propane is the lowest-cost transportation fuel available |
| $1.2B | Barrels of oil per day the U.S. would save if we replaced 3.5 million heavy-duty vehicles with propane by 2035 |
| 60,000 | Number of propane vehicles on U.S. roads today |
| 200 | Number of fleet options now available in the U.S. |
| 14,000 | Number of propane-powered buses that transport 850,000 children to school every day in the U.S. |
| 4.5 | Million pounds of NOx emissions per year could be reduced by replacing over 1200 older buses (pre-2007) with propane school buses, which could impact over 400,000 kids |