Autogas: A Readily Available Domestic Fuel Source

I hope your Fourth of July was filled with family, fun and reflection on the meaning of our Independence Day. The amazing thing about our country is the tradition of bettering our circumstances to make it stronger. And that tradition continues with our nation’s quest to choose domestically produced energy to power our vehicles.

With the constant uncertainty overseas, being energy independent becomes even more vital.

I have been carefully watching what is unfolding in Iraq. Our economy and way of life is threatened by something out of our control. Today, oil reserves worldwide could decline in the coming months if the unrest in Iraq continues. This speculation will drive the price of crude to higher levels (the price was $113 per barrel on June 18).

Guess who feels the pain?

Enough of the doom and gloom because our country has a solution that has the rest of the oil hungry world jealous. The experts predict more than 100 years of supply of domestic natural gas and natural gas liquids, such as propane autogas, and it is up to our industry to continue to spearhead the lead.

Propane autogas is one of the solutions to help us bridge the gap to what comes next:

·         More than 90 percent of the U.S. propane autogas supply is produced domestically, with an additional 7 percent from Canada.

·         More than 70 percent of propane used in the U.S. comes from the nation’s natural gas supplies.

·         Plus, there are over 2,700 autogas refueling stations with locations in every state.

Autogas vehicles increase propane usage:

·         Across the nation, ROUSH CleanTech has deployed thousands of vehicles fueled by propane autogas in a variety of industries, including school districts, city and state governments, logistics, food and beverage, transportation and energy.

·         The propane autogas vehicles we have sold during the last 24 months will displace more than 500 million gallons of gas/diesel over their operating life. That is almost 12 million barrels of oil — equaling about a day and a half worth of U.S. imports.

·         And these numbers will continue to grow. Although this is still a relatively small number, it shows results come from where we put our focus.

The pieces of the puzzle are in place:

1. Industry leaders, such as Ford, offer a complete commercial line-up of vehicles capable of running on propane autogas and natural gas.

2. Our country has propane supplies. In Q4 2013, propane exports averaged 270,000 bbls per day showing that the rest of the world has figured out its pivotal role in transportation.

3. Technology providers, like ROUSH CleanTech, have spent tens of millions of dollars on technology development to bring 14 Ford and Blue Bird platforms to market.

4. Energy providers, such as Amerigas, Ferrellgas and hundreds of other regional propane companies, are ready to deliver propane that will power your fleet.

Now is the time to make the change to fuel with an abundant, domestically produced fuel source. And our team of 100+ professionals is committed to walking you through each step in the process. Call us today at 800.59.ROUSH.

Enjoy your summer and I look forward to sharing more updates in August.