Propane Council Announces Officers, Authorizes Publication of Proposed Budget for 2011
The budget plan, which assumes an assessment rate of four-tenths of a cent per gallon of odorized propane, will be published before August 1 for industry and public comment, as required by the Propane Education and Research Act of 1996.
For More Information:
Gregg Walker
Propane Education & Research Council
202-452-8975
gregg.walker@propanecouncil.org
Propane Council Announces Officers, Authorizes Publication of Proposed Budget for 2011
Council approves grant for Freightliner chassis, General Motors engine for propane bobtail trucks
Download Propane Council Announces Offices, Authorizes Publication of Proposed Budget for 2011
WASHINGTON (July 23, 2010) — The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), meeting last week in Boulder, Colo., announced that the following councilors will serve as the PERC Executive Committee for a term that runs from July 2010 through June 2011:
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Chairman: Bill Platz, Delta Liquid Energy (Paso Robles, Calif.).
Vice Chairman–Marketers: Paul Grady, Heritage (Florence, Ky.).
Vice Chairman–Producers: David Regan, Targa Resources (Houston).
Treasurer: Joe Armentano, Paraco Gas (Rye Brook, N.Y.).
Secretary: Tom Redd, Martin Midstream Partners (Kilgore, Texas). |
The Council also authorized the publication of a proposed $35.1 million assessment budget for 2011. The budget plan, which assumes an assessment rate of four-tenths of a cent per gallon of odorized propane, will be published before August 1 for industry and public comment, as required by the Propane Education and Research Act of 1996.
The proposed budget is designed to help the propane industry achieve significant growth in propane demand — 100 million new gallons of propane in 2011 and 500 million new gallons a year by 2015 — by helping manufacturers bring new propane-fueled products to the marketplace. But PERC President and CEO Roy Willis cautioned councilors and industry members that PERC programs alone cannot hit the targets.
“Our research makes it clear that PERC programs in new product development can drive demand for more than 50 million incremental gallons next year,” said Willis. “That would be about half the new gallon opportunities that our metrics consultants have identified. But capturing all the available new gallons out there will require the support of propane retailers who get behind new propane products for every market segment and help their customers adopt them.”
In other Council business last week:
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• After hearing from Bob Harbin, president of Freightliner Custom Chassis, the Council approved a $2 million grant
to help certify a Freightliner chassis and a propane-fueled 8-liter General Motors engine for use in propane bobtail
trucks and school buses. The project — co-funded by General Motors, Powertrain Integration, CleanFuel USA,
and Freightliner Custom Chassis — will also release a version of the 8-liter engine for the propane agriculture
market.
• The Council heard a report from Wendy Dafoe of the Department of Energy's Clean Cities program on the work of
coalitions that promote propane and other alternative fuels in communities around the country.
• Councilor Gregg Dighero, EnCana (Denver), gave a report on his experience with converting personal vehicles to
run on propane. |
The Council approved the following grant funding requests:
Residential and Commercial
Docket 16745 — Commercial Market Research, $255,568
Safety and Training
Docket 16740 — CETP Support, $81,750
Docket 16741 — Dispensing Propane Safely, 2nd Edition — Production, $145,400
Docket 16756 — Plant Operations Textbook, $157,601
Docket 16743 — Consumer Safety Outreach: Recreational Vehicles, $39,900
Docket 16753 — Initial OSHA/DOT Training Textbooks, $62,412
Research and Development
Docket 16722 — Carbon Management Information Center Consortium, $75,000
Docket 16725 — Development and Testing of Mobile Propane System for Bed Bugs, $98,000
Docket 16736 — Liquid Phase LPG Filter Technology Research, $250,800
Docket 16744 — Development and Commercialization Support of Yanmar Micro-Combined Heat and Power (CHP), $725,000
Agriculture
Docket 16684 — Vacuum-Cooled Low-Profile Grain Dryer Development, $138,000
Docket 16711 — The Integration of Mechanical Cultivation and Flaming for Effective Weed Control in Agriculture, $125,455
Engine Fuel
Docket 16724 — Engine Fuel Advisory Committee Professional Services, $200,000
Docket 15649 — CARB Off-Road Verification of a Propane Addition System, $531,000
Docket 16723 — 8-Liter LPG Engine — Medium-Duty Truck and Bus, $2,000,000
Docket 16607 — Second-Generation Propane School Bus Development, $500,000
Industry Programs
Docket 16773 — Propane MaRC Maintenance and Enhancements, $149,141
Docket 16115 — Market Development of Propane Appliances, Technologies, and Products (Change Order), $35,000
State Rebates
Docket 16676 — Gas Safety Training Classes, $25,000
Docket 16677 — Agriculture Plastic Burner and Plow, $25,000
The Council got a detailed summary report of replicated rebates approved since the Council meeting in April. There were 42 rebate requests totaling $1,625,737.66.
The Council will next meet October 6 and 7 in Baltimore.