Alternative-fueled vehicles on display in Dublin

Jun 20 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Rodney Manley The Macon Telegraph, Ga.

 

The alternative-fueled autos paraded Tuesday outside MAGE Solar included electric and natural gas cars, liquid propane-powered police trucks and a pair of Chevy Volts charging under a canopy of solar panels made at the Dublin plant.

The state Public Service Commission showcased the autos as part of its second annual Alternative-Fueled Vehicles Rolling Roundtable. But while the variety of green vehicles are growing, fueling stations are scarce in Georgia, which experts said is slowing the state's move toward cars that run on something other than gasoline or diesel.

"If you're driving an electric car, there can some anxiety about whether there is a charger or if that charger will be available," said PSC Chairman Tim Echols, who hosted the event.

For example, the sun-powered but round-the-clock charging station at the Dublin solar panel manufacturer is the only stop between Macon and Savannah for electric cars. Things could improve soon, as more Georgia cities are turning to alternative-fueled fleets, and technology has advanced to make going green more practical for consumers.

"The price of fuel is only going to go up because we are competing for a finite resource," said Don Francis, executive director of Clean Cities-Atlanta.

Though it has cut oil consumption in recent years, United States is the world's largest oil consumer. Meanwhile, China has increased its demand.

Clean Cities works with large fleets and has helped with changeovers in the Atlanta area, but that was not the only energy- and money-saving option. DeKalb County began making electricity in 2006 from gas flares at its landfill, and the county now powers 40 sanitation trucks with compressed natural gas from the landfill.

The county plans to convert all 306 of its sanitation trucks to the gas, which is 30 percent cleaner than diesel and much more plentiful domestically.

"We are the Saudi Arabia of natural gas," said Derek Whaley of Alliance Auto Gas, a fleet conversion company.

Fleets typically save about $1.25 per gallon, said Whaley, who brought along two police trucks his company helped convert to use liquid propane.

"We did this first to establish credibility," he said. "If a taxi cab's late, somebody's terribly inconvenienced. If a police car's late, somebody could die."

Propane, a byproduct of the refining of natural gas, can provide the same horsepower, torque and towing capacity as gas and diesel, said Brian Carney of Roush Cleantech, which makes conversion systems for Ford F-250s and Blue Bird school buses, and is a sister company to the NASCAR's Roush Fenmore Racing.

Carney said a propane truck might cost $11,000 more than same gas model, but it turns in a $15,000 savings through the life of the vehicle.

Dublin, which owns its own natural gas system, is negotiating a deal to put in a fueling station for city vehicles, such as garbage trucks and police cars, that would switch to the other gas as soon as fall. Mike Clay, administrator of the city's gas department, said private companies might even use the fuel eventually.

"We've got some fantastic fleets here ? Flexsteel, Best Buy, Fred's," Clay said. "Right now, we're in the 1910 stage with Henry Ford trying to get gas out there for the horseless carriage."

The PSC's Echols, who drives a natural gas-fueled 1999 Honda and has solar panels on his home, said he hopes to see big container trucks traveling on Interstate 16 to and from the Port of Savannah running on alternative fuels. Dublin, he said, has the resources and location to capitalize.

"You guys are situated in a very strategic place for trucks traveling up and down the road," he said.

Macon is one of nine locations for filling station in a plan by Atlanta Gas Light to develop a "CNG corridor." The Rolling Roundtable will be in Macon at 1 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 700 Poplar St.

MAGE Solar was the only repeat stop from last year's tour. It gave the company the chance to again show off its solar charging station.

"You really charge from the sun," said company spokeswoman Susanne Fischer-Quinn. "You don't get any cleaner than that."

To contact writer Rodney Manley, call 744-4623.

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