Written on: October 27, 2025
While there’s no doubt that renewable propane gas (rPG), along with other low-carbon renewable liquid gases, has incredible potential to reduce emissions in the United States, it’s important to see the impact it’s already making. Renewable propane can be used in propane equipment and autogas vehicles without any sort of modification. Consequently, any rPG being used today has an immediate and measurable benefit for our planet.
With that in mind, we want to look at four numbers that illustrate the positive effect of rPG as well as its promising future.
The first number worth considering is a small one — and it’s only going to get smaller.
A carbon intensity score measures how much CO2 is released to produce a given amount of energy, typically measured by megajoules. For reference, the average U.S. grid electricity has a CI score of 130 grams CO2 equivalent per megajoule. Conventional propane’s CI score is 79 gCO2eq/MJ.
Most renewable propane has a CI of only 20.5 gCO2eq/MJ. Research into new feedstocks and other biogas blends (like renewable dimethyl ether) could bring the score to zero, or even into net-negative territory!
Palmer Gas & Oil of Atkinson, NH, celebrated National Propane Day by cutting the ribbon at a new storage facility, the largest in Southern New Hampshire. Along with the opening of the facility, Palmer also received the region’s first load of renewable propane. That means more New Hampshire homes are getting access to this revolutionary green fuel. (It follows on the arrival of rPG for Maine homes in 2024.)
Right now, U.S. energy bio-energy producers are bringing around 4.5 million gallons of rPG online each year, most of it for industrial, commercial and transportation use. We’re seeing considerable implementation of this fuel in city fleets, most notably in Raleigh, NC. The largest production facilities are in California and Louisiana.
Tucker Perkins, president and CEO of the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), wrote this last year in ACT News:
Within the next few years, 100 million gallons of renewable propane is expected to be available with a total potential of 300 million gallons in the next decade. In fact, by 2050, renewable propane could meet half the world’s demand for non-chemical propane, according to the World LP Gas Association.
This is a profound opportunity for American homes, businesses, municipalities and vehicle fleets. Ramping up the production and distribution of rPG would have a significant positive impact on the environment without the high costs and long timelines associated with electrification. We’re excited to see how the numbers change in the months and years ahead!
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