Making Sense of Power Sources

Propane IS an alternative fuel

When you think “alternative fuel,” liquid propane might not come to mind right away. After all, LP powers more than 40 percent of the lift trucks used in the U.S. today. However, according to Brian Feehan, V.P. at the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), the Environmental Protection Agency recognized propane as an alternative fuel when it passed the Clean Air Act in 1990, and it continues to be recognized as an alternative fuel by the EPA and by the state of California. That recognition was reinforced by the tax credit extension that was just passed at the end of 2010 under the Tax Relief Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization Job Creation Act which extended the 50 cent per gallon tax credit for propane used in lift trucks. And Feehan wants to remind LP users that they can take that tax credit not only for 2011, but for 2010 as well.

“You have until August of 2011 to claim one-time your fuel use for 2010,” he says. “We can’t state that enough. Congress realizes that such tax credits decrease our dependence on foreign oil and that propane is good for the environment. Those two things have been carrying the day for propane.” Back in 2005 when the California Air Resources Board (CARB) was trying to clean up emissions from large spark ignited (LSI) engines, it was also trying to convert as many lift truck fleets as possible to electric power—at least all lift trucks of 8000 pounds capacity and less. The propane industry worked with California to develop new LSI regulations so that LP lift truck fleets could meet certain fleet average emissions goals.

But to emphasize propane’s image as an alternative fuel, Feehan notes that propane is also a good fuel source for hybrid and fuel cell technologies. “We’re seeing propane and electric hybrid technology and direct injection technology used in Europe in on-road vehicle applications,” he says. “We expect to see those come to the States. We’ve done a lot of work with fuel cell manufacturers and have proven that propane is an excellent fuel source for fuel cells. The challenge isn’t the fuel source but the cost associated with fuel cells. The fuel cell industry needs to look at how it will introduce its technology to the marketplace to build volume and reduce the overall cost of that equipment. When they’re ready we’re ready to help them.”

In the meantime, propane shares the stage with lead-acid-battery powered electric lift trucks as the most reliable choices on the market. And although Toyota Material Handling USA has been researching and developing alternative power sources, its president, Brett Wood, still feels the old reliables are hard to beat.

“Hybrids sound sexy and exciting and everyone can relate to it now,” he says, “but in the lift truck world if you want to be green and efficient you can go electric as easy as anything. As for IC, as housing and manufacturing come back, there will still be a strong need for ICs to climb ramps and handle heavy loads.”