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Congress Passes Retroactive Tax Credit For Propane Autogas Vehicles
The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) is encouraging propane autogas fleet operators to take advantage of the Alternative Fuel Tax Credit, which was recently passed by the U.S. Congress as part of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020. Propane autogas fleet operators who apply for the tax credit will be able to claim a credit for every gasoline gallon equivalent of propane purchased, or about 37 cents per gallon. The bill not only extends the credits through December 31, 2020, but fleet owners can also apply for credits retroactively for any fuel purchases made in 2018 and 2019. While April is typically tax month, companies now have until July 15 to file. “The extension of the Alternative Fuel Tax Credit is a win for fleet managers, allowing them to further take advantage of the financial benefits of propane autogas in addition to the environmental benefits it provides fleets,” said Steve Whaley, director of autogas business development at PERC. “Even without the Alternative Fuel Tax Credit, propane autogas already offers the lowest total cost-of-ownership of any vehicle fuel, so the tax credit is icing on the cake for propane autogas fleet managers.” The new law also retroactively extends the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit, which allows operators to claim up to 30% or $30,000 of the cost of installing qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property, including propane autogas refueling equipment. Qualifying fleets can learn more about how to apply for these credits through this fact sheet from the National ...
GIE+EXPO Report: PERC Donates $5,000 To GreenCare For Troops
At the GIE+EXPO last week, The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) announced the results of its in-booth trailer giveaway sweepstakes. After tallying number of entries, PERC donated $5,000 to Project EverGreen’s GreenCare for Troops program. (For each contractor who entered the sweepstakes, PERC donated $5 to the GreenCare for Troops program.) PERC also presented the winner, Jim Langendorf of Springboro, OH-based Olympic Lawns, with a 16-foot Big Tex Trailer. Langendorf also took home an Exmark Lazer S-Series propane mower, a Spartan RTHD 61” propane mower, a Stihl cordless blower and cordless trimmer, a water cooler, and 25 safety vests and pairs of work gloves. GreenCare for Troops connects families of active-duty deployed service members with professional lawn, landscape, and snow removal volunteers in all 50 states. Volunteers provide free services to eligible families in their area for the length of their deployment, typically nine to 12 months. “PERC is proud to support GreenCare for Troops, an organization that assists American service members and their families during deployment.” said Jeremy Wishart, PERC director of off-road business development. “We were excited to see how many lawn and landscape industry professionals participated in growing our donation to GreenCare for Troops. To reflect that spirit, we are rounding up PERC’s total donation to $5,000.” Additional donations to Project EverGreen can also be made online at ProjectEverGreen.org/Donate. For more information on using propane for landscaping, visit Propane.com/For-My-Business/Landscape-and-Turf-Management.
PERC Giveaway At GIE+EXPO Benefits GreenCare For Troops
Landscapers who visit the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) Booth #7094 at GIE+EXPO and enter to win the council’s equipment trailer giveaway will have $5 donated on their behalf to Project EverGreen’s GreenCare for Troops program. GreenCare for Troops, located at Booth #584, connects families of active-duty deployed service members with professional lawn, landscape, and snow removal volunteers in all 50 states. Volunteers provide free services to eligible families in their area for the length of the deployment; typically nine to 12 months. To enter the trailer giveaway and grow PERC’s donation to GreenCare for Troops, landscapers can sign up for The Cut enewsletter in PERC’s booth anytime during the expo hours, or may sign up online in advance of the show. To be eligible to win, contractors must be present in the booth at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 17, when the drawing takes place. In addition to the trailer itself, a 16-foot Big Tex Trailer, the winning contractor will take home the following tools and accessories: • An Exmark Lazer S-Series propane mower. • A Spartan RTHD 61” propane mower with a 896cc Vanguard engine. • A Stihl cordless blower. • A Stihl cordless trimmer. • A water cooler. • 25 safety vests. • 25 pairs of work gloves. “Propane is an all-American fuel, with the majority of the U.S.’s supply produced on American soil, and with much of the propane industry made up of family-run, small businesses for whom supporting service members and veterans is important,” ...
Propane Helps Fuel Municipal Groundskeeping
The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) released a new online video featuring footage captured by GoPro cameras shot from the equipment operator’s point of view to show what it’s really like to use a propane commercial mower. PERC is a nonprofit that provides propane safety and training programs and invests in research and development of new propane-powered technologies. PERC is operated and funded by the propane industry. “We were looking for a fun way to show equipment fleet managers, department directors, and professional landscapers what it’s really like to operate with propane,” says Jeremy Wishart, PERC director of off-road business development. “These first-hand accounts are really incredible and we hope the video can serve as a virtual demonstration to those who might be considering a move to commercial propane mowers.” Read more at FacilityExecutive.com.
Landscape Contractors Satisfied With Propane Mowers
More than 85 percent of contractors using propane commercial lawn mowers in their fleets are likely to continue adding propane equipment to their businesses, according to the results of a recent survey conducted by the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC). Of these contractors, nearly all started their transition to using propane by installing a propane conversion kit on existing equipment, a quick and inexpensive path for contractors to reduce fuel costs and downtime on nearly any brand of commercial lawn mower. “This latest data is proof positive that contractors who make the initial transition to a propane mower are satisfied with their purchase, and frequently end up purchasing or converting more equipment to propane,” said Jeremy Wishart, PERC director of off-road business development. “The fact that most contractors start out using a propane conversion kit and end up staying with the fuel just shows that the initial investment is often offset by a quick return on investment and leads to long-term use as contractors observe the fuel’s benefits.” The survey was answered by 374 landscape contractors. Through conducting surveys of contractors, PERC hopes to gain a better understanding existing perceptions and purchase habits toward commercial propane equipment in the landscape market. Most of the contractors who use propane equipment also responded that they have used it for at least three years, and in that time, observed that their propane mowers have performed as well or even better than gasoline mowers. A similar survey was conducted by PERC in 2016. ...
Get Ahead Of Trends With Propane Powered Equipment
From emissions regulations to high gas prices, propane powered equipment can provide a wide range of benefits. Commercial propane mowers are no longer a niche product for environmentally-minded professionals in the turf and landscape maintenance industry, but rather a well-established alternative to gasoline and diesel. Propane now fuels more than 27,000 commercial mowers across the United States at the start of the 2019 cutting season, and a dozen mower brands produce more than 150 propane mower models in a variety of zero-turn, wide-area, and stand-on units. Several trends in the past few years have led to this increased adoption of propane equipment in the industry, including an increasing demand for environmentally-friendly services from consumer customers and public agencies operating their own fleets or bidding out maintenance work to contractors. This is all in addition to high summer gas prices. Not only are these trends going to continue affecting landscape contractors, use of the alternative fuel will continue to provide solutions to meet a wide variety of challenges. Propane can meet demands for reduced emissions. Sustainable and environmentally-friendly services, treatments, and designs have been on “top trends” lists from the National Association of Landscape Professionals for several years now and aren’t likely to go away. In fact, in a 2018 survey conducted by the Propane Education & Research Council, a quarter of landscape contractors who responded believe the number of their customers requiring alternative fuels will increase in the next three years. Nearly a third of landscape contractors who responded have ...
EIA Fuel Forecast Calling For Higher Prices In 2019
A fuel price forecast published by the U.S. Energy Administration in November 2018 expects gasoline prices to average more than $2.75 per gallon in 2019, and the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) is reminding professional landscape contractors to prepare now for another cutting season with high gasoline prices. “No contractor likes to think about all the money their business has to expend just to purchase fuel, and we certainly hear more complaints from contractors when gasoline prices start to approach that $3.00 per gallon mark when it turns from a nuisance to a cost that sometimes they financially can’t bear,” said Jeremy Wishart, director of off-road business development at PERC. “But contractors don’t have to feel helpless against the fuel price posted at their local gasoline filling station if they switch to mowers powered by propane, which consistently costs between 30 and 50 percent less per gallon than gasoline. That price margin only widens when gasoline prices rise like they’re going to do again next season.” In addition to a lower price per gallon of fuel, contractors can usually lock in a set fuel price with their local propane supplier, in order to pay the same rate for fuel all year long. Whether a contractor is ready to make the switch to propane, or is simply interested in learning more about propane-powered equipment in advance of the 2019 season, the Propane Council has resources available to inform and support these businesses in a variety of ways: PERC’s propane mower ...
