By DAVE HAMRICK
dhamrick@thecitizennews.com

Fayette County is moving toward propane gas rather than electric vehicles in complying with federal requirements concerning alternative fuels.

The county will spend $134,733 to install a new propane fueling island at its McDonough Road public works facility, increasing its holding capacity from 1,000 gallons to 6,000 gallons, and is stepping up its orders for vehicles that will run on both propane and gasoline.

“We have two in the fleet now and six on order, with seven more to be ordered,” public works director Lee Hearn told county commissioners during recent discussions.

Federal agencies are requiring local governments to gradually convert the majority of their fleets to alternative fuels to reduce emissions. It's part of an effort to improve air quality in the Atlanta region.

Within five years, Hearn said, 70 percent of Fayette's fleet will be composed of bi-fuel vehicles.

For the last two years, the county has experimented with electric vehicles, which perform much better on air quality standards than vehicles that burn natural gas or propane.

But the electric vehicles are “just not practical,” said county fleet manager Bill Lackey.

One of the three electric trucks owned by the county has had mechanical problems, and if it hadn't been under warranty the repairs would have been much more expensive than on a normal vehicle, said Lackey. And the initial cost of the vehicle is almost twice that of a comparable gas-powered model.

And although improvements are being made, currently an electric charge on the vehicles doesn't last long enough to suit county purposes, he said. “If we were in the city of Fayetteville where we would have a shorter perimeter to drive them in, it might be all right,” he said. “But right now propane is the way to go.”

One bi-fuel Ford F-150 pickup truck, currently on order, is priced at $19,379, Lackey said, comparable to the cost of a gas-only truck.

Federal requirements are that the bi-fuel vehicles spend at least 90 percent of their time running on the alternative fuel, propane. That's not a problem, said Lackey. “They can run pretty much the same distance on propane as they can on gasoline,” he said.

Commissioners wondered whether it was necessary to upgrade the county's fueling station now, with only a handful of vehicles using propane. “I don't like us to move any more quickly than we have to,” said Commissioner Linda Wells. But Hearn pointed out that under its cooperative agreement with local governments, the county provides a fueling station for Fayetteville and Board of Education vehicles as well.

After complaining that the alternative fuel requirement is “another federal mandate that is totally unfunded,” Commissioner Greg Dunn made the motion to approve the expense. The motion passed 4-0, with Commissioner Harold Bost absent.