Is Propane A Renewable Energy?

Renewable propane will make the already-green fuel even better.

If you, like us, are concerned about heating your home and powering your appliances cleanly and efficiently, then you may reasonably wonder if propane is environmentally responsible. After all, there’s so much talk about converting households to all-electric appliances. Is full electrification the only green option?

Absolutely not — propane is a considerably eco-friendly fuel. In many ways, it’s a greener home energy option than converting to fully electric systems.

How eco-friendly is propane?

Propane has many attributes that substantially benefit the planet (and your wallet too). Consider these facts:

• Conventional propane is a co-product of natural gas extraction and oil refining. No additional drilling is required to produce it.
• Propane has a much lower carbon intensity (CI) than U.S. grid electricity, diesel and gasoline.
• Unlike natural gas, propane is methane-free. (Methane is over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere.)
• Propane contains virtually no particulate matter, a known carcinogen.
• Propane-fired equipment is exceptionally efficient. Propane furnaces, for example, have fuel efficiency ratings in the 90s. This means you lose almost no heating energy in combustion and burn less fuel. This efficiency is also excellent for your home budget!

As you can see, conventional propane is an incredibly eco-friendly energy source. And renewable propane is even greener.

What is renewable propane?

Renewable propane is molecularly identical to conventional propane, so that you can use it in propane equipment without modification. But it’s produced using organic and recycled feedstocks like those used in biodiesel. These feedstocks include:

• Fats, oils and grease from restaurants and other sources
• Forest waste and agricultural residue
• Municipal waste
• Agricultural sources, like soybeans, inedible corn and plants that grow on otherwise fallow land, like camelina sativa and pongamia pinnata.

Because of this sustainable production process, renewable propane has a CI that’s roughly half that of conventional propane — and sometimes even lower. Indeed, renewable propane is carbon neutral at the point of combustion!

Renewable propane isn’t in widespread use today, but its production grows substantially each year. In 2021, the U.S. produced roughly 4.6 million gallons of renewable propane, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

How to lower your propane-powered home’s carbon footprint

At Superior Propane, we encourage our customers in Flagstaff, Prescott, Williams and other northern Arizona towns to invest in energy efficiency. Today’s high-efficiency propane furnaces will substantially lower both your carbon footprint and your winter fuel usage.

Similarly, according to the Department of Energy, a propane tankless water heater like the Rinnai products we install is up to 34 percent more efficient than a storage tank unit. That’s because tankless systems only heat water when you need it instead of heating a reheating a full tank of unused water.

Superior Propane can save you money on equipment upgrades with rebates and discounts. Reach out to us anytime to explore your options.