“Based on EPA certifications, propane provides the lowest level of NOx in the industry. Unfortunately, we can’t unequivocally say that propane is the cleanest fuel for school buses today. “We produce propane school buses, so of course we would stand behind that statement if it were true. “Propane school buses are being lauded as the cleanest in the industry,” said Caley Edgerly, a former president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses, in a blog post in 2018. The Department of Energy’s National Lab modeled emissions of propane compared to post-2010 diesel buses and found they “do not offer significant air quality benefits.” A 2023 analysis from the World Resources Institute found no benefits of propane over diesel when it comes to climate pollution.Įven some manufacturers of propane buses have called out the misinformation. Propane emits many of the same hazardous pollutants as diesel, and the industry fully ignores the toll of greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA recognizes that propane buses produce some lower emissions, like nitrogen oxides, than other fuels, but they do pollute nonetheless. The industry frequently uses the phrase “near-zero emissions” to describe the propane bus. In fact, the same study showed propane could be worse than diesel when it comes to carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions. PERC likes to cite an industry funded study that draws a sharp contrast with diesel, showing that engines that run on propane emit 95% fewer nitrogen oxides than diesel. That’s true, if the conversation is limited to just NOx emissions. A spokesperson for PERC told Vox the purpose of the contest was to “educate school children about energy options.” The group maintains that propane power buses have lower NOx emissions than diesel-powered buses, a fact they say that makes then “near zero emissions” vehicles. To celebrate her win, Emily Calandrelli, host of the Netflix science show Emily’s Wonder Lab, visited the winning school during a science assembly that touted the environmental benefits of propane-powered school buses. A nine-year-old from Colorado won the grand prize for her tree planting project. A few dozen kids from around the country participated, submitting proposals meant to boost sustainability in their elementary or middle schools. Last year, the popular children’s magazine The Week Junior advertised a contest called “Be Like Jack” that would award $2,000 to the preteens or teens who submitted the winning ideas for an environmental project. According to Vox, the Propane Education and Research Council has a $47 million budget, which it uses to support its public education campaigns. It’s not a tax that goes to governments to do public good it goes to the industry to promote itself. Propane users pay a half cent per gallon fee. Multiply that by the remaining 494,000 school buses that need to be replaced and you come up with a staggering amount of money. An electric school bus can cost as much as $300,000. Despite the fact that the federal government is putting up $5 billion in incentives for schools to buy electric, there is a big hurdle. About 6000 of them are battery-powered, which means it could be 20 years or more before the majority of them are zero emissions electric buses. Today there are 500,000 school buses in America. As such, it may create different kinds of nasty stuff when it is burned than diesel does, but you still wouldn’t want to put a lip lock on the tailpipe of a propane-powered school bus and inhale deeply. Propane, sometimes called petroleum gas, is a byproduct of the oil refining process. We at CleanTechnica have been covering the transition to electric school buses for several years, but there’s a new player in town - the propane industry - and it is spending heavily to convince school boards and administrators that propane-powered school buses are a way to lower carbon emissions from school buses at much lower cost. I may have to listen to B ohemian Rhapsody several times just to stop thinking about it. It’s one of those tunes that burrow deep into our brains and won’t let go. Everybody is familiar with the children’s ditty The Wheels On The Bus Go Round And Round.
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