U.S. Centennial Celebration and the Clean Air Rally, April 2012, Atlanta USA
As a key part of the US Propane Centennial Celebrations, the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) hosted a Clean Air Rally and Autogas Parade with some 49 propane autogas-fueled vehicles on Saturday, April 14, in and around Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, USA.
Propane autogas is the world’s most widely used alternative vehicle fuel with nearly 17 million autogas vehicles worldwide. Sadly, the U.S. lags behind many other countries in adopting this important vehicle fuel. The Department of Energy estimates that only 2 percent of the world’s propane autogas vehicles are in the U.S.
“Other nations are far ahead of the U.S. in adopting this proven, clean-burning vehicle fuel. Ninety-eight percent of the propane we use in the U.S. is produced right here in America, which lessens our dependence on foreign oil sources. In addition, autogas cuts harmful emissions by at least 20 percent compared to gasoline,” said Rick Roldan, President and CEO of the Washington, DC-based National Propane Gas Association. “Add to this the fact that it costs about $1 less per gallon than gasoline. In this economic climate, that is the most compelling reason of all to educate our communities and public officials on this fuel,” he added. The event will showcase a wide range of autogas vehicles from school buses, trucks, cars, and dragsters, to forklifts, commercial lawn mowers, golf carts, go-karts, and more. The event will feature fleet managers who will speak to the impact propane autogas has had on improving the profitability and productivity of their fleets.
This Clean Air Rally officially launched the industry’s 100-year anniversary celebration of propane as a clean, domestically produced alternative fuel. The Rally served to showcase propane’s versatile uses as an on and off-road vehicle fuel, and highlighted the latest research and development initiatives that address the nation’s efforts to regain economic footing while facing calls to reduce the environmental impact of current technologies. The industry strongly believes propane serves a crucial role in obtaining energy security and environmental improvement, and that Americans can rely upon propane to serve their energy needs now and well into the future.
The propane industry contributes approximately $46 billion per year to the U.S. economy and directly employs over 48,000 people. In Georgia, Virginia-based research firm ICF International calculates nearly 214,000 propaneheated households and over 1,500 jobs directly related to the industry. NPGA is the national trade association of the propane industry with a membership of over 3,000 companies, including 38 affiliated state and regional associations representing members in all states.
This event was coordinated in partnership with Alliance AutoGas, Autogas for America, Clean Cities-Atlanta, CleanFuel USA, ROUSH CleanTech, the Industrial Truck Association, and the Southeast Propane Autogas Development Program, among others. Parade participants are attempting to qualify for Guinness World Records™.
“Our organization settled on the concept of a ‘Clean Air Rally’ to kick off our anniversary year because autogas is an extremely valuable contribution we make to the U.S. economy—and one that we feel is critical to addressing our nation’s energy security issues moving forward. It is our birthday celebration, but we thought that this event and the message it communicates, was our way to give something back to the communities we have served for the past century.” said Roldan.