The Tie That Binds Alternative Fuel Vehicles And A Commercial Laundry

Two small-business owners in North Miami, Fla., recently completed a plan that repurposed a commercial property on 119th St. in the city from a laundry facility and mini-mart to a state-of-the-art alternative fuel station.

Years ago, the laundry that Andrew Gold and business partner Abdul Razzak Khanani owned was operating on a propane-fired boiler. There were no spots nearby for consumers to buy propane, so the partners took advantage of the 1,000-gallon tank on site and began selling LPG on a retail basis. Norgetown Propane was born.

Fast-forward to today, and the mini-mart has been razed, and Norgetown's headquarters has evolved into the only public-access propane autogas station anywhere near Miami. Gold tells NGT News that providing fuel for propane vehicles is an immense opportunity for companies like his.

"It's a coming trend," he says. "We really see this as the future of the industry."

Last week, Norgetown welcomed the public and local dignitaries to a ribbon-cutting at the company's HQ. The site has undergone a complete facelift, courtesy of a 50/50 partnership between Norgetown and the North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency, which is focused on helping businesses improve their facilities and, in turn, attracting new commercial activity.

The above-ground 1,000-gallon propane tank at 1005 NW 119th St. is gone, replaced by a 2,000-gallon underground tank. That installation required "major pumps," Gold says, in order to get the gas out of the ground at the rate Norgetown wanted.

Ultimately, the company installed a 7.5 hp pump that yields 10 gallons of propane to the nozzle in 30 seconds. There are four autogas dispensers on site, and the facility is manned 24/7. Read more here.

Propane provides stunning fuel savings

Commercial truck and bus fleets in the United States are becoming keenly interested in running their vehicles on liquid propane (LPG), as this column reported back in March. That's because propane prices are substantially below those for gasoline or diesel, or even for compressed natural gas (CNG). Moreover, LPG provides substantial savings in maintenance costs and up to a 50-percent reduction in CO2 emissions. Now, the question is, will LPG catch on with everyday drivers and not just commercial fleets?

LPG, also known as autogas, can be unbelievably cheap – if you buy it in bulk. Anyone who fills up the tank for their barbeque grille, or heats their home with it, will tell you that it's as expensive as gasoline. But fleets that commit to buying in bulk can get a substantial discount.

"Today we're buying LPG at $1.14 a gallon and we get a 50-cent federal tax credit, so we're actually paying 64 cents a gallon. It's been a real winner for us," says Edgar Benning, the General Manager of the Mass Transportation Authority for the city of Flint, Michigan.

The city of Flint, which is struggling through hard economic times, is saving so much money on fuel that the LPG vehicles are actually paying for themselves. Benning says it costs the city 13 cents per mile to operate its vehicles on LPG versus 41 cents a mile using diesel fuel.

The interest in propane as a fuel is a direct result of the shale bonanza that is transforming the US energy sector. As recently as only five years ago, propane was largely produced from petroleum and its price was directly tied to the price of oil. Today, propane is largely a by-product of natural gas production. The US has such a surplus that it has become a net exporter, and in some areas there is such an abundance that producers are pumping it back into the ground. Read more here.

Streamlined CARB Vehicle Certifications Now Closer to Reality

The State of the Autogas Industry: How we got to where we are

Hansen: State easing off gas, onto alternative fuels

We cannot meet in his office, because he doesn't have an office.

I don't need to schedule an interview through his public relations person, because he doesn't have one of those, or an assistant, or any employees.

Instead, Jim McGee plops down beside me at a coffee shop, greets me with a pat on the back and hands me a homemade business card that says, “Nebraska Clean Cities Coalition.”

McGee, a longtime Nebraska Department of Roads official, now runs a nonprofit devoted to weaning Nebraskans off gasoline-powered cars.

Only one tiny hurdle: Nearly every single Nebraskan, including McGee and yours truly, drives a gas-powered car.

“I am more encouraged than I ever thought I would be,” McGee says. “The more I see, the more I sense that the glass is filling up.”

So far as I can tell, Jim McGee is not delusional.

Rather, his is an exercise — a lesson, really — in looking at the marathon ahead and then simply deciding to put one foot in front of the other.

Here's a step: Omaha and Millard students are now transported to their schools by 434 propane-powered buses. It's the largest propane-powered fleet of its kind in the country.

Here's a step: A local plumbing company runs its service vans on compressed natural gas — an energy that, while not exactly clean, at least comes from inside the United States.

Here's a step: Nebraska truck stops are starting to explore truck electrification, which allows truck drivers to live in their semis without constantly idling their engines.

McGee just started his new job as the first paid director of Nebraska Clean Cities, a position paid for temporarily by a federal grant. Read more here.

Alternative-Fuel Tax Credits for Fleets

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) might not be the first agency that springs to mind when seeking funding for alternative-fuel vehicles, but, in reality, the IRS has several programs aimed to directly benefit users of alternative fuels and alternative-fuel vehicles.

In addition to the $7,500 IRS tax credit available for the purchase of certain plug-in electric vehicle as covered in the September/October 2012 issue of Green Fleet magazine, there is also a 50-cents-per-gallon tax credit available for dispensing certain alternative fuels used to operate a motor vehicle.
In essence, this program funds back 50 cents for each gallon of a “qualified alternative fuel” dispensed. This easy-to-apply-for tax credit is available to fleets that qualify even if they are exempt from income taxes with only a minimum expenditure of time and effort. Most fleets will be able to gather the required records and complete the required paperwork in less than one hour.
What Alternative Fuels are Eligible?

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extended the 50-cents-per-gallon federal alternative motor fuel tax credit through Dec. 31, 2013, and also made it retroactive for all of 2012. Qualifying fuels under this program include compressed natural gas (CNG), based on 121 cubic feet; liquefied natural gas (LNG); liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), aka propane autogas; P-Series fuel; liquid fuel derived from coal through the Fischer-Tropsch process; and compressed or liquefied gas derived from biomass.
While this federal program has been around since 2005, many eligible fleets may not be aware of its existence and could be missing out on an opportunity to bring external revenue into their operation.
Who Qualifies?

Fleets dispensing CNG, LNG, LPG/propane autogas, and the less common alternative fuels previously noted are all eligible for this tax credit. The operative word here is “dispensing,” as the fleet claiming the tax credit must be what the IRS refers to as an “Alternative Fueler.” Read more here.

Propane Autogas Event Planned for March in Texas

The Propane Engine Fuel Summit will be convening on March 27, 2014, at the Irving Convention Center in Irving, Texas, as a part of the fifth annual Texas Altcar Expo.

The summit, now in its fourth year, will include the latest propane autogas technologies, product offerings, industry partnerships, funding opportunities, end-user fleet applications and more. Event partners include Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities, North Central Texas Council of Governments and TSN Communications.

The summit will be available live via online webcast, free of charge.

Contact Greg Zilberfarb at (703) 779-4890 for more information, or click here.