Ever since Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition (ACFC) hosted its annual Propane Road Show in 2012, officials from the state’s Department of Corrections (ADOC) were inspired to see if the fuel could work in their own fleet. Thanks to the Coalition, ADOC officials said they had the resources necessary—such as industry contacts, educational information, and bi-fuel conversion kit recommendations—to confidently propose to switch their fleets to propane The idea immediately caught on at ADOC and officials teamed with ACFC shortly after to begin planning a two-year pilot project to convert 10 of their conventional gasoline vans to propane at the Loxley Work Release Center.
Fast-forward to today, and the ADOC has seen significant fuel cost savings from switching to propane–amounting to $6,612 per year, per van converted from gasoline. Before launching the pilot project, the Department was spending more than $1.3 million on gasoline a year to fuel a fleet of roughly 80 passenger vans. The vans, which can hold up to 15 passengers, are used daily to bring inmates to their job assignments. After seeing notable success from just 10 vans in two years, the Department has added 55 more propane vans to its fleet, built onsite propane fueling stations at ADOC facilities statewide, and contracted with propane marketers to serve the ADOC fleet in areas throughout Alabama.