PERC to assist UPS with refueling infrastructure

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) approved the following funding requests during a February conference call, with the amount and principal contractor in parenthesis.

■ $780,000 to assist in the installation of propane autogas refueling infrastructure in 30 locations across California, Louisiana and Oklahoma (UPS). The investment includes testing of a new refueling nozzle’s low-emissions characteristics and ease of use. UPS announced plans earlier this week to purchase 1,000 propane-fueled delivery vehicles from Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp.

■ $385,000 for a project to develop an electronic handheld odorant detector for propane (Battelle).

■ $50,000 for the Carbon Management Information Center Consortium program (Gas Technology Institute). Natural gas industry members and PERC help fund the collaborative program, which launched in 2007 and examines how propane appliances can have significant source-to-site carbon emission benefits over many electric and oil appliances.

The council is scheduled to meet April 11 in Atlanta.