Kentucky terminal’s supply capacity to expand

The Bluegrass West Propane Terminal will feature 360,000 gallons of storage this fall. Photo courtesy of Chris de Graaff, operations manager at the Bluegrass West Propane Terminal.

Storage capacity at the Bluegrass West Propane Terminal in Madisonville, Kentucky, will double in size by the end of September, according to Fortner Gas Co.‘s Shane Fortner.

Fortner and his family purchased the terminal property 11 years ago and added two 90,000-gallon storage tanks to the site for propane use at its own locations. In January 2016, Fortner Gas partnered with Alliance Energy Services of Kansas City, Missouri, allowing Alliance to use and expand the terminal.

“Alliance Energy knew we had this rail terminal, so they asked us a few years ago if we would want to partner with them,” Fortner says. “After 2014, they said they were ready to talk serious about a partnership, so we installed a meter system to meter propane and generate BOLs (bill of lading) at the terminal. [Alliance Energy] started using it in January.”

The Bluegrass West Propane Terminal currently serves customers in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee. Since January, Fortner Gas has been gradually upgrading the Bluegrass West Propane Terminal to handle more volume. By the end of this month, the terminal will feature two rail spurs, 360,000 gallons of storage and two loading racks that can load transports simultaneously, the company says. It will also be capable of unloading five railcars at a time.