May 4, 2012 - N.C. county is reaping benefits of using propane autogas

ASHEVILLE - Sheriff Van Duncan wasn't sure propane would work as fuel for his patrol cars when lives could depend on a deputy arriving at an emergency.

A few months into a pilot program that converted 10 of his Crown Victorias to run on propane as well as gas, Duncan has become a believer.

"I am going to push for more upgrades, and I want my car to be the next one converted to propane," the Buncombe sheriff said.

The Buncombe County Sheriff's Office's propane pilot program was just one of the success stories featured Thursday at the Biltmore Estate, which played host to the Land of Sky Regional Council's Propane Autogas Road Show.

Buncombe's 10 patrol cars were converted at a cost of $5,000 apiece as part of a $8.6 million federal stimulus grant administered through the Virginia Clean Cities Coalition. The Southeast Propane Autogas Development Program aimed to convert 1,195 vehicles to run on propane by this spring.

"The real goal is to displace petroleum as a fuel and to create cleaner air," said Alleyn Harned of the Virginia Clean Cities Coalition.

The program will save an estimated 4 million gallons of gasoline, which is more expensive to use, dirtier for the atmosphere and imported from countries often unfriendly to the U.S., advocates say.

Propane - or autogas, as it's known worldwide for use in vehicles - could help the U.S. reduce its dependence on foreign fuel, while lowering greenhouse emissions and costs for public and commercial fleets across the nation, industry experts said.

While the U.S. has an abundant supply of natural gas and propane and exports 2 billion gallons annually, the nation has been slow to adopt propane for transportation. Only 220,000 vehicles in the U.S. run on propane out of the 18 million vehicles using the fuel worldwide.

The biggest appeal may be its cost: While a gallon of regular gas is running around $3.85 and diesel at $4.07 nationally, most customers are paying less than $2 per gallon for propane as a transportation fuel.

Lori Hembree, of Buncombe County's Mountain Mobility, pointed to a $53,096 annual savings from the 10 dual-fuel propane vans in her 43-vehicle fleet.

Propane, along with other alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas, biodiesel and electric vehicles could help improve air quality for the mountains. The five counties served by Land-of-Sky Regional Council are close to winning their own certification as a Clean Cities Coalition, according to Bill Eaker, who heads the initiative.

"We've done a lot of great work in the past seven years with local fleets and saved a lot of petroleum," Eaker said.

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