Lay the Groundwork for Renewable Propane

by Joe Montroy, Bergquist, Inc.

Conventional Propane’s Clean Message is a Perfect Segue to Discussing Renewable Propane

A lot of attention is paid to renewable propane these days, and with good reason. There are plenty of benefits to promote. Renewable propane is identical to conventional propane on a molecular level. This makes it a drop-in replacement for conventional propane, so there are no changes needed to any equipment. At the same time, it provides environmental advantages that make it easy to promote to customers interested in lowering their carbon footprint.

This is a big deal. Making consumers and the general public aware of propane as a green energy gives us a bigger voice in the conversation.

There is an active segment of our industry working to bring renewable propane to the market. Their efforts will help us make the case for propane as a viable renewable energy. It’s going to take a lot of time and effort. There is something the rest of us can do in the meantime. Conventional propane’s environmental benefits deserve to be promoted on their own. It has its own advantages over many other energy sources. We should be doing more to make our communities aware of them.

We have a great story to tell, with tons of advantages. We can start with the basics: propane is a portable, versatile, dense source of energy. These are easy cases to make. Explaining what makes propane clean energy is where it gets important.

There are the advantages we’ve always known and promoted. Propane is safe for the environment. It is non-toxic and won’t pollute groundwater. It is not a greenhouse gas. When released into the air it vaporizes and dissipates with no damage to the habitat.

Those are benefits before ignition. These days people talk a lot about emissions. So, compare propane to the competition after combustion. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has. It lists propane as producing the fewest carbon dioxide emissions versus heating oil, diesel, kerosene, and gasoline, among others. 

How about measuring our emissions by the carbon intensity score (CI)? This is a convenient way to compare the carbon footprint assigned to different energy sources. Conventional propane has a CI of 79. The average CI for the U.S. electrical grid is 130. 

We can make this conversation easier by using Propane Education Resource Council (PERC) resources to educate ourselves. Check out the information PERC makes available at propane.com. There is an entire tab set up specifically on propane and the environment. It includes the information referenced above from the EIA, as well as the carbon intensity data. We should make ourselves aware of this information so we can engage in the conversation around climate change and the electrification movement.

Let’s lead the conversation with our friends and neighbors about propane’s advantages. It’s up to us to ensure that what our community hears is not one-sided. Start by using PERC and the information available at propane.com to educate people about the advantages of conventional propane. Just because we know why propane is an excellent choice doesn’t mean our friends and neighbors do.

Renewable propane will almost certainly be the future of our industry, and for good reason. It further reduces propane’s CI score. In the meantime, however, don’t skip the opportunity to promote conventional propane’s many climate benefits over competing energies. It’s the perfect segue to renewable propane’s sustainable-fuel message.

Joe Montroy is Vice President, Sales for propane equipment supplier Bergquist, Inc. He can be reached at 616-724-6460 or joe.montroy@bergquistinc.com.

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