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2009 PROPANE Exceptional Energy(r) Fleet Award Winners Announced at Alternative Fuels & Vehicles National Conference + Expo


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Texas, New Jersey, and Georgia are represented by exceptional green fleets.

WASHINGTON April 21, 2009; The propane industry recognized four winners of the 2009 PROPANE Exceptional Energy(r) Fleet Award at a ceremony during the Alternative Fuels & Vehicles National Conference + Expo in Orlando, Fla., today.

Honored for exceptional propane-fueled fleet applications were the City of Fort Worth, Texas; Eastern Propane, a New Jersey company; the El Paso (Texas) Independent School District; and the Jackson County (Georgia) Sheriff's Office. The PROPANE Exceptional Energy(r) Fleet Award, sponsored by the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), recognizes the achievements of on-road and off-road fleets that use propane for their vehicles and promotes awareness of propane as a cost-effective, safe, and clean-burning engine fuel.

Fleet decision makers nationwide recognize the advantages offered by the most widely used alternative to gasoline and diesel - propane. City vehicles, school buses, delivery trucks, law enforcement vehicles - these and other propane-fueled vehicles are meeting the demands of commercial fleet managers.

"This year's honorees again demonstrate propane's viability," said PERC Vice President Brian Feehan. "They realize that the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and low-carbon emissions of propane make it not only a wise environmental choice for fleet vehicles, but also a sound business decision. And today's economic and tax incentives to use clean-burning alternative fuels such as propane make it even more rewarding."

2009 PROPANE Exceptional Energy(r) Fleet Award Winners:

Public Fleets

* City of Forth Worth, Texas: The Fort Worth city government has been using propane-fueled vehicles (Ford Crown Victorias and Ford pickups) for 15 years. The city owns and manages about 3,800 vehicles; with 600 to 800 fueled by propane. Serving as ambassadors for propane engine fuel, city representatives have urged the mayor of Fort Worth to consider buying other propane-fueled vehicles, including the liquid propane injection Roush F-150 pickup truck and CleanFuel USA's GM trucks.

* El Paso (Texas) Independent School District: The district has 152 propane-fueled school buses in its 306-vehicle fleet, including 17 new Blue Bird propane-fueled buses. These buses collectively travel 2.9 million miles and consume about 380,000 gallons of propane per year while transporting more than 11,000 students to and from school and extracurricular activities. The district has used propane school buses for nearly 20 years and has received more than $400,000 in federal engine fuel tax credits for using propane. Originally, the school district decided to use propane because it was more cost-effective than gasoline. Today, it uses propane because of its clean-burning properties as much as the cost savings. The district shared its experiences with eight other school districts in El Paso County, convincing them to adopt propane buses in their fleets.

* Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Jefferson, Ga.: The Jackson County sheriff's office has 70 vehicles in its fleet, and 16 are Ford Crown Victorias fueled by propane. It plans to have 55 propane-fueled vehicles by the end of 2009. The sheriff's office was drawn to propane engine fuel for economic reasons, but has since come to view it as a win-win alternative - a cleaner-burning fuel that is better for the environment.

Private Fleet

* Eastern Propane, Oak Ridge, N.J.: Eastern Propane is a third-generation family-owned and -operated supplier of propane to approximately 20,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in northeastern New Jersey, northwestern Pennsylvania, and southern New York. Founded in 1938 as a propane distributor, Eastern Propane put its first propane-fueled truck on the road in 1955. Today, the company fuels at least 54 of its 70 vehicles with propane. The propane fleet includes bobtails, SUVs, pickups, vans, cylinder trucks, crane trucks, and off-road equipment. Eastern Propane's propane-fueled vehicles carry the "Propane Powered for Cleaner Air" message on them to help raise public awareness of this alternative fuel. The company embraces an attitude of practicing what you sell, continually demonstrating the viability of propane.