OVERLAND PARK, Kan.,
April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
Despite a challenge from President Barack
Obama to the nation's largest fleet owners to help reduce
U.S. oil imports by one third by 2025 using a number of viable
alternative fuels, Congress is currently only reviewing legislation
that would provide federal incentives for natural gas vehicles.
Sponsored by Reps. John Sullivan
(R-OK), Dan Boren (D-OK),
John Larson (D-CT), and Kevin Brady (R-TX), the New Alternative
Transportation to Give Americans Solutions (NATGAS) Act of
2011, fails to offer incentives to fleet owners who are
interested in using other alternative fuels, including propane
autogas.
In a recent meeting with representatives of several companies
that operate some of the nation's largest fleets, President Obama
announced a National Clean Fleets Partnership through which those
companies will deploy more than 20,000 vehicles that use any number
of alternative fuels. When discussing the partnership, the
President specifically mentioned propane autogas, a domestically
produced, environmentally friendly fuel source that is currently
used by some of the nation's largest fleets, school districts, and
municipalities.
Steve Wambold, President and CEO
of Ferrellgas, which is one of the nation's largest propane
companies, agrees with President Obama's fuel-neutral approach, and
urges Congress to develop legislation that gives America's fleets
the ability to choose the alternative fuel that makes the most
sense to them.
Wambold says he's confident that propane autogas will fare quite
well in that comparison.
"Propane autogas powers more than 15 million vehicles in 38
countries, and is the most widely used alternative fuel in the
world," he says. "Propane also compares quite favorably to natural
gas. Greenhouse gas emissions are essentially the same, as are fuel
costs. Most importantly, a natural gas refueling station costs up
to 10 times more than a propane autogas station, and vehicle
conversion costs for natural gas vehicles are three times that of a
propane autogas vehicle conversion. I urge Congress to take a close
look at what seems to be biased legislation that compromises a
fleet owner's ability to choose the alternative fuel that is best
for his company."
Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. is a Fortune 1000 company and, through
its operating partnership, Ferrellgas, L.P., serves approximately
one million customers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Ferrellgas employees indirectly
own more than 20 million common units of the partnership through an
employee stock ownership plan. More information about the company
can be found online at www.ferrellgas.com and
www.ferrellautogas.com.
Contact: Scott
Brockelmeyer, Media Relations, 913-661-1830
SOURCE Ferrellgas Partners, L.P.