With interest in natural gas and propane at an all-time high in the Mountain State, the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) is hosting three free workshops on the topic beginning Friday (May 9).

NAFTC, headquartered at West Virginia University, will host the Friday workshop at 8:30 a.m. at the Bridgeport Conference Center, located off Jerry Dove Drive in Bridgeport, to demystify using natural gas and propane for vehicle fleets. The West Virginia Division of Energy Clean State Program is partnering with NAFTC.

Officials say they’re offering the workshops to address several factors, such as fueling costs, economic impact and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s commitment to keep the benefit of West Virginia’s natural gas and propane resources in the state.

“West Virginia produces an abundance of natural gas and propane in the state,” said Bill Davis, NAFTC acting director. “We export a significant portion of that to the remainder of the United States and to foreign countries, when we could be using it to power West Virginia vehicles. It only makes sense that we use West Virginia resources to power West Virginia. It has a great economic impact on the state. I personally would rather spend my fuel money on someone who lives right beside me rather than sending it overseas to purchase crude oil for gasoline and diesel.”

With gasoline prices continuing to rise and natural gas and propane continuing to be the more economical fuel choices, local fleet managers are interested in learning more about how these fuels can improve their bottom line.

Fueling costs are some of the highest expenses that gasoline-powered fleets face. Because of the low cost of natural gas and propane, the use of these fuels can quickly offset the cost of conversion for vehicle fleets, making the use of these fuels a win/win for West Virginia businesses.

The other two workshops will be held in Charleston and Wheeling. Workshops are open to public and private fleets of all sizes.

Each workshop will provide a basic understanding of the fuels and the West Virginia outlook, including the properties of natural gas and propane as transportation fuels, vehicle types, vehicle conversion, safety and maintenance issues, fuel availability and plans for growth.

The workshops will feature panel discussions with local company representatives who have already switched to natural gas and propane vehicles.

Complete information and registration for all three workshops can be found at www.naftc.wvu.edu.

NAFTC was founded in 1992 to help promote clean energy options in transportation through educational programs. This award-winning program remains, to this day, the only nationwide alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicle training organization in the United States, and its training network stretches from Maine to California. Each National Training Center provides Training with Impact through its experienced instructors and real-world shop facilities.

The organization has also conducted more than 1,775 workshops and education/awareness events on alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles, with more than 875,000 attendees. NAFTC has won numerous awards for its work including multiple National Training in Excellence Awards from the Automotive Training Manager’s Council and Marcom Awards for marketing and outreach and education activities and materials.

-WVU-

jm/05/08/14

CONTACT: Judy Moore, National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium
304.293.7882, Judy.Moore@mail.wvu.edu

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