Clean Energy Economy for the Region (CLEER) will manage the project and provide training for regional Clean Cities organizations such as Denver Metro Clean Cities, Garfield Clean Energy in Garfield County, Northern Colorado Clean Cities in Fort Collins and Southern Colorado Clean Cities in Colorado Springs. These local organizations will enlist fleets to participate in the Refuel Colorado Fleets project, which will encompass at least seven communities across Colorado. Once the communities are selected, the trained energy coaches from Clean Cities will work with local government and business fleets to help them with purchasing alternative fuel vehicles and improving fleet efficiency.

“Helping local communities make more widespread use of alternative vehicle fuel technologies also helps drive economic development,” said Alice Laird, executive director of CLEER. “This project will help Colorado speed up our transition to domestic vehicle fuels, building business and jobs.”

The $225,000 Refuel Colorado Fleets project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and does not include funds for fueling stations, charging stations or alternative fuel vehicles.The Colorado Energy Office also plans to provide public information through web tools, support stakeholder initiatives to remove barriers to alternative fuel adoption, and incorporate alternative fuel vehicles in the state fleet.

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“By using American-made clean fuels for transportation, we can reduce the supply disruption and price volatility that come with reliance on foreign oil,” says Stuart Weidie, founder of Autogas for America and president of Alliance AutoGas. “Improving national security and stabilizing the cost of transportation is a critical next step for America’s growth. Propane autogas is a proven fuel that can help to meet our country’s transportation needs. It’s American made, cost $1.50 less per gallon than gasoline, and it’s immensely practical for America’s transportation sector–all while reducing harmful emissions by 30 percent compared to gasoline.”

Check out the full video below, and be sure to visit the Alliance AutoGas YouTube channel to learn more about propane autogas for fleets.

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Force 911 and Alliance AutoGas-branded propane autogas trucks

“The Department of Energy had $300 million that they funded projects all of the United States. We did a project of 1,200 vehicles and the city of Kingsport was part of that project,” says Steve Whaley with Alliance AutoGas, who outfitted the Kingsport fleet.

It was an effort at saving fuel costs for the city as well as the obvious environmental concerns. “As we’ve seen in the last few months the volatility of ten-cent everyday increases in gasoline at the pumps. Propane didn’t actually do that. So currently we’re paying $1.50 for propane and $3.01 for gasoline,” city fleet manager Steve Hightower said.

The fact is that these vehicles are known as bi-fuel. You have your choice: gas or propane. “These are bi-fuel systems so nothing changes on the existing gasoline-powered system. What we do is overlay an additional fueling system, the propane system. So you can literally push a button and run on propane or push a button and run on a gasoline system,” Whaley said.

Steve Whaley of Alliance AutoGas discusses propane autogas for fleets during the Knoxville alternative fuel vehicle roadshow.

Alliance AutoGas and vehicle conversion center partner Force 911 are participating in the TN roadshows to display autogas vehicle technology for fleets and discuss the benefits of running on this clean fuel. The roadshow is in Knoxville today and will stop in Chattanooga Thursday. Visit the official alt fuel roadshow website for a complete list of events and additional details, including registration.

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• Mentioned in our blog post about propane pricing earlier this week, a Wisconsin coffee roaster is switching fleet vehicles to propane autogas with the help of Charter Fuels. Charter provides the Alliance AutoGas complete program for fleets in Wisconsin, including vehicle conversions, fueling and staff training.

• An alternative fuel vehicle conversion facility is being funded in West Virginia. Alternative Fuel Solutions received financing from INNOVA Commercialization Group for a facility to convert vehicles to run on natural gas, propane autogas, and other alternative fuels.

• More alt fuels news from West Virginia, as Kanawha County continues converting its fleet vehicles to clean fuels.

• Ford, Mercedes and Nissan have apparently “signed a technology pact to produce a car that emits nothing but water by 2017.” The three automotive powerhouses will split development costs and share decades of research in order to deploy the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles within four years.

• A school district in Montana has renewed its contract with First Student Inc. for another five years and plans to switch to new propane autogas school buses to cut cost and reduce harmful emissions.

• Indianapolis Power & Light Company is installing 26 electric vehicle charging stations for non-emergency electric plug-in vehicles in the city’s fleet. The mayor signed an executive order last December requiring the city to replace approximately 500 non-police sedans with hybrid vehicles.

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• The U.S. Senate’s “fiscal cliff” legislation includes 12 energy tax extenders, including for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property and the extension of alternative fuels excise tax credits.

• The City of Edmonds in Washington has completed the first four propane autogas vehicle conversions for its police fleet. Alliance AutoGas partner Blue Star Gas is coordinating vehicle conversions, fueling and training.

• More propane autogas taxis are coming to Pittsburgh, Pa.

• The City of Columbus has 14 new propane autogas-powered mowers.

• A West Virginia County is taking bids to build slow-fill CNG refueling stations to encourage the use of more compressed natural gas vehicles.

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See, the folks at Blue Star Gas are fond of a certain 1966 propane bobtail dubbed “Old No. 44.” The workhorse propane autogas-powered truck was in constant service from 1966 until 2006, traveling millions of miles until it finally retired. It was refurbished to its former glory in 2007, and has been making the rounds of car shows and parades ever since. And Old No. 44 is so dependable, it turns out Santa Claus has even been known to take it for a spin!

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• This Michigan school district says their new propane-powered bus will soon pay for itself in fuel cost savings.

• The Propane Education and Research Council offers five reasons construction professionals should drive autogas fleet vehicles.

• Alliance AutoGas welcomed newest fueling partner Cumberland Gas, which will serve vehicle fleets along the Georgia coast.

• Alliance AutoGas partner Parker Gas is going to be helping the Sampson County, N.C., Sheriff’s Office shift 24 fleet vehicles to autogas. The Raleigh Police Department switched vehicles to autogas through Alliance, and saved $30,000 with 10 vehicles alone.

• Chicago will expand its green fleet with 20 new electric vehicles. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he wants energy efficient vehicles to become the norm, not the exception.

• SuperShuttle International is rebuilding its Fort Collins, Colo., fleet of shared ride vans, buses and town cars with vehicles powered by propane autogas, biodiesel and E-85.

• There’s a growing number of natural gas vehicle fleets in the Lincoln, Neb., region.

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The report calls for increased federal incentives and research spending to diversify our transportation energy sources, especially in the areas of alternative fuel vehicles.

From the Hill:

The report noted the U.S. has amassed a $1.7 trillion deficit in crude oil and petroleum trade since 2007, which accounts for more than half the total trade deficit during that time.

“The excessive reliance on oil exposes the entire economy to the vagaries of the global oil market at a cost that has become increasingly unsustainable. Oil dependence is one of the greatest threats to U.S. national security, and it deeply undermines our ability to achieve and enduring period of American growth and prosperity,” the report said.

The report suggested increasing federal energy research and development spending, especially in the areas of electric vehicles and alternative fuels, such as natural gas and “advanced” biofuels made from non-edible feedstocks.

The SAFE report also recommends creating six “deployment communities” where the use of alternative fuels and electric vehicles would be aggressively promoted. These chosen communities would act as experimental “laboratories” to help researchers discover what works and what doesn’t when it comes to AFV adoption with consumers and the transportation sector.

Waste Management CEO David Steiner noted that the lack of refueling infrastructure to support alternative fuel vehicles remains a major challenge to the spread of clean vehicle technology in the U.S. Prohibitively expensive infrastructure may be a roadblock for CNG and EVs, but propane autogas fueling stations are actually a fraction of the cost of CNG stations. And with financing options from Alliance AutoGas for onsite fuel stations and autogas vehicle conversions, fleets can get up and running on this American-made clean fuel and start saving on lower fuel costs right away.

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Dutch company Prins Autogassystemen, creator of the Prins VSI system, recently won two awards during the world’s largest automotive show this past September in Frankfurt, Germany. Automechanika highlights innovation in areas such as parts, systems, tuning, workshop equipment, bodywork,  IT & management and the latest automobile services.

Prins was recognized with the Green Directory Award and the Innovation Award for their Direct LiquiMax LPG system, which was singled out for its innovation and sustainability.

Courtesy of Prins

According to the company website:

The Prins Direct LiquiMax system is especially developed for cars with direct injection engines. It is a bivalent fuel system for petrol and liquid petroleum gas. This highly complex system is innovative, makes a contribution to environmental protection and enables the driver to use cheaper fuel without suffering any restrictions on mobility. It is suitable for the aftermarket as a retro-fit product and for automobile manufacturers as original equipment.

Congratulations to Prins for continuing to develop cutting-edge, innovative and environmentally friendly technology to help the world’s fleets drive cleaner and save on fuel costs!

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