The National Propane Gas Association held its “Propane Days” rally on Capital Hill last week and Autogas for America stakeholders were on hand for the event. The goal of the rally is to inform legislators about the benefits of propane. Alliance AutoGas President, Autogas for America founder and NPGA Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman, Stuart Weidie was a featured keynote speaker.

“Propane Days has been a valuable opportunity to reach lawmakers interested in addressing America’s energy challenges,” said Weidie. “Autogas for America doesn’t promote legislative favoritism for any particular fuel. However, we believe autogas should have equal opportunity to succeed in the marketplace alongside other alternative fuels already receiving attention in Washington D.C. The environmental and cost benefits of autogas will take it from there.”

Part of the efforts of the propane industry was to lobby for passage of the Propane Green Autogas Solutions Act of 2011 (Propane GAS Act). The industry hopes that autogas will achieve parity with other alternative fuels as part of the solution to energy independence. Other organizations participating in the event included the Propane Education and Research Council, Ferrellgas, AmeriGas, ROUSH CleanTech, Blossman Gas, and Blue Star Gas. In addition to meeting with lawmakers, the group also engaged in a social media campaign.

George Koloroutis, president of Ferrellgas North America, added, “Utilizing clean, American-made fuels like autogas for our nation’s vehicle fleets ultimately reduces our dependence on foreign oil. America has been lagging behind the rest of the world in using this environmentally friendly, economical fuel, and it’s time we started investing in U.S. energy security with autogas.”