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Autogas and Gasoline Prices, 2009-2011

It’s no secret that gasoline is expensive, but what many Americans don’t know is the cost of the alternative. Autogas for America released a new Alternative Fuel Fact Brief on Aug. 24. The paper highlights how propane autogas, while as practical to use as traditional fuels, is cheaper and cleaner than gasoline. The study considers the big picture, pointing out that high gasoline prices are not just a burden to the individual consumer, but are crippling an economic recovery.

The study demonstrates that gasoline is not only an expensive resource, but also a volatile one. While the cost of gasoline nearly doubled in 2009, autogas prices remained low and relatively flat. Gas started at $2, and jumped all over the board from there. Historically, autogas has cost about $1.25 per gallon less than gasoline, when including a 50-cent-per-gallon federal alternative fuel tax credit. Some states even provide tax incentives for using alternative fuels like autogas.

For organizations already burdened by strained budgets, the high price of and uncertainty surrounding oil can complicate planning for the future. Everything from turmoil in the Middle East to declines in foreign reserves can drive up the price of oil. However, 90 percent of the U.S. autogas supply is made in America. While prices at the pump reflect instant savings for autogas fleets, autogas has also produced long-term savings. Vehicles running on autogas have been on American roads for years now, and real-world case studies show as much as $145,000 in annual fuel savings for fleets making the switch from gasoline to autogas.

The cost savings from autogas use offer more than just the immediate rollback for the consumer.  Lowering fixed costs like fuel expenses helps to create and save jobs, support a green energy economy and boost a company’s bottom line.

For a comprehensive look at the differences between autogas and gasoline, visit the Resources page of the Autogas for America website.

 

 

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A few weeks ago, we mentioned the misleading Nissan Leaf commercial that told the story of the gracious polar bear on his quest to thank those who drive green. Apparently Hollywood doesn’t mind that Nissan’s “zero emissions” push might not be accurate, because the commercial has received an Emmy nomination.

While this commercial does make the point that we should be doing all we can for the environment (including lowering emissions), it deceives viewers and polar bears alike. The ad claims the Nissan Leaf is “zero-emissions,” though that isn’t entirely true. Electric vehicles (EVs) may be (or may not be) better for the environment than conventional gasoline vehicles, but all they can claim is zero “tailpipe emissions.” The energy that powers their batteries is produced by a national energy mix that relies heavily on coal. In fact, according to the EPA’s blog, as of 2009, 20 U.S. states generated more than half of their energy from coal; states such as West Virginia, Indiana and Kentucky were generating more than 90 percent of their power from coal.

And the polar bear ad isn’t the only example of Hollywood and the mainstream media pushing alternative energy misconceptions. This Wall Street Journal article interviewing the director of the new Pixar movie “Cars 2” has him superficially remarking about alternative fuels, “Why isn’t everybody jumping on that bandwagon? It makes so much sense: Electricity, solar, whatever. There’s ethanol. There’s all this stuff you could be doing.”

In a way, he’s right – there is “all this stuff you could be doing,” but all his suggestions are currently unviable technologies. However, there are other options that are more viable than electric, ethanol, or hydrogen cars. Domestic alternative fuels such as propane autogas are clean, affordable and American made; OEM autogas vehicles and aftermarket vehicle conversions available right now.

Many alternative fuels are currently too expensive to implement or range and performance issues remain. Autogas is providing fleets the most bang for their buck, with autogas vehicles having up to 90 percent the range of gasoline vehicles and no loss in vehicle performance.

If the media truly wants to support alternative fuel technologies, they should do more research and figure out that EVs aren’t the only ones helping the environment.

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Posted by admin at 5:08PM on 6/24/2011 with tags: , , , , , , ,

A recent British study has questioned the environmental benefits of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and has gone so far as to claim they may be dirtier than gasoline vehicles. While this statement may baffle those who have seen automakers’ touting “zero emissions” EVs (view our June 2nd post about Nissan), the study goes on to say that nearly half of an electric vehicle’s emissions are produced during the manufacturing process, before the car has ever been driven. EVs require multiple batteries to operate – batteries that greatly increase the amount of energy needed and pollution created by the factory.

Of course, the other portion of EV emissions is created when the vehicle’s battery is charging. Since much of the world’s electricity is sourced from dirty sources such as coal, the EV’s emissions are simply being transferred from the road to the area around the power plant.

One place this study’s findings might be (indirectly) tested is in Australia where PEV manufacturer Tesla is attempting to break the national record for the longest road trip by an electric vehicle with its all-electric “Roadster.” It will be recharged along the way with renewable energy sources such as solar, hydro and wind to illustrate the low emissions capabilities of the vehicle. Critics of the project, such as automotive expert and editor of New Zealand’s sardonic Dog and Lemon Guide Clive Matthew-Wilson, say that the car isn’t as environmentally conscious as Tesla would have you believe. “Burning coal to make electricity to power an electric car creates more pollution than if you simply powered the same vehicle using petrol [gasoline],” Matthew-Wilson said.

This study was among the first to complete an analysis of  the energy-intensity of producing batteries when calculating EV life-cycle emissions. Given that this and other recent studies have targeted EVs’ green credentials lately, shifting from gasoline to mass production of EVs may be too ambitious for now – which only furthers the case for using American-made, clean-burning alternative fuels like autogas and natural gas.

To make the way for a true clean energy future with PEVs, America would need to overhaul its energy grids and greatly expand renewable energy use. The disparity between EVs’ actual contribution to lowering emissions and EV proponents’ dream of what it could be does not mean we’re stuck with gasoline in 2011– autogas is right here, right now.

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Posted by admin at 4:51PM on 6/8/2011 with tags: , , , , ,

Securing our nation’s energy supply is imperative – most people would agree. Support for American-made alternative fuels (like autogas, natural gas and even responsibly produced biofuels) is important at all levels: individuals, corporations, and government agencies. You too can support domestic fuel. Shifting from gasoline to fuels like autogas will send OPEC a message: that they can’t decide what you pay to fill up anymore.

Sometimes the day’s news can bring it all home, can clearly illustrate the link between foreign oil and our wallets. Today was one of those days.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed to come to an agreement today over boosting oil output levels in the face of increased demand and high oil prices. Currently, OPEC’s members alone supply some 40 percent of the world’s oil. (Compare that, for example, to the fact that 90 percent of America’s autogas is produced domestically).

Iran’s petroleum minister was vocal in his opposition to increasing exports.The reason for the minister’s position? “The world remains well-supplied with oil, with ample spare capacity and adequate stock levels,” he said.

Whatever the current supply and demand configuration is (though it is a fact that OPEC supplies were disrupted earlier this year), it is well known that high-growth, industrializing countries like India and China are increasingly demanding more petroleum resources. As the United States and other industrialized nations remain dependent on foreign oil imports, competition for these resources will become more fierce.

OPEC’s apparent ambivalence at $100+/barrel oil might be explained another way. An oil analyst interviewed by the Washington Post posited that oil exporters are “more interested in cashing in on high oil prices right now than in stabilizing energy markets,” thanks in part to rigid demand.

Source: OPEC.org

Saudi Arabia seems to know what high oil prices might mean in the long-term, though: switching to domestically-produced alternative fuels. As the analyst put it, “They don’t want countries to turn to alternative fuels. They don’t want people on buses.”

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Posted by admin at 12:52PM on 6/2/2011 with tags: , , , , , ,

We’ve started a new series of videos about alternative fuels. Autogas for America is proud to present “Is natural gas an affordable vehicle fuel?” This animated short video looks at the real cost of natural gas vehicles and infrastructure as compared to propane autogas.

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Posted by admin at 6:52PM on 5/25/2011 with tags: , , , , , , , ,

Autogas for America has launched a new series of informational “fact briefs” that compare and contrast certain alternative fuels. The first in the series, “American, Abundant… and Affordable?”, analyzes the viability of using natural gas (specifically, compressed natural gas) for light-duty vehicles. In addition, a complete cost comparison between propane autogas and CNG is provided.

We welcome your thoughts and questions. Post your comments below!

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Which alternative fuel?

Welcome to Alternative Fuel Facts, where we plan to clean up the alternative fuels industry.

You see, we’ve realized that there’s a lot of misinformation floating around the internet about various alternative fuels. Industry stakeholders sometimes exaggerate the viability of and downplay the uneven playing field for technologies and fuels like natural gas (CNG), ethanol, electric vehicles, hydrogen, biodiesel, and so on.

“You mean corporations and politicians may have been embellishing the facts and figures about things that are supposed to help us?” Why, yes, it’s true.

Before you go all “you’re just saying this because you’re a front for big, bad company” on us (which we’re not), let us clear the air:

  • We are not trying to say that these fuels don’t have their place in the market at all. They do. Each alternative fuel and technology has its place, has an application or applications for which it’s a great solution.
  • We are advocates for propane autogas used in light- and medium-duty vehicle fleet applications, because it’s the most effective, readily-available, affordable solution for these applications.
  • We think it’s ridiculous for someone to slap a “Zero Emissions” sticker on the side of an electric vehicle (EV), because it simply isn’t true. Where do they think the energy for EVs comes from?

Through our extensive research and experience in the alternative fuels industry, we’ve realized how little the general public actually knows about some of the most hyped technologies around.

  • Did you know that electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf will be powered by electricity generated from, on average, 50% coal? And it ain’t the mythical “clean coal” variety either.
  • Did you know that despite CNG having a cheap per-gallon sticker price, we’ll have to fork over $1 million+ for each fast-fill fueling station in order to fuel a (very expensive) natural gas vehicle?
  • Did you know diesel fuel, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, coal-powered processing plants and oil are all parts of the process of making supposedly ‘green’ corn ethanol?

So stay tuned, folks – we’ll be revealing the truthiness about the alternative fuels hype.

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