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Top EPA official urges motorists to switch to LPG

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Minister Winston Dang (陳重信) yesterday encouraged automobile owners to convert their vehicles to a greener fuel alternative, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), saying it was a much cheaper option.

Compared with petroleum, LPG costs less, offers comparable highway mileages (10km per liter), and is more environmentally friendly, Dang told reporters during the EPA's budget review in the Legislative Yuan.

Flipping open the trunk of his government vehicle, he showed reporters how a modifier can be installed to make a vehicle run on a dual system of LPG and gasoline.

INSTALLATION COSTS

Dang said that although the installation cost NT$46,000, car owners could save on lower fuel bills as well as with government incentives, such as coupons that subsidize NT$30 on every 20 liters.

LPG currently costs NT$17 per liter, a little more than half the price of gasoline.

"Since my government vehicle was converted a year-and-a-half ago, I have been saving NT$3,000 to NT$4,000 on gas every month," he said, adding that a typical vehicle could make a round-trip from Taipei to Kaohsiung on a 45-liter LPG tank.

LPG, also known as autogas, is either primarily propane, butane, or a mixture of both. It is often considered a greener fuel than petroleum because vehicle using it produce up to 20 percent less carbon dioxide.

GOVERNMENT VEHICLES

Dang opened the discussion in August on converting all government vehicles to LPG.

Responding to Legislator Yang Li-hung's (楊麗環) comment that government officials should lead by example, Chen said that while some older car models may not be compatible with the LPG modifier, the agency would push for the government to buy only LPG cars in future.

Currently 12,000 vehicles in Taiwan are running on the dual system.

"The EPA is working on building more LPG refueling stations to improve the convenience and feasibility for car owners to make the shift," Dang said. "There are 20 LPG refueling stations being built around the country right now."

He especially urged the nation's 98,000 taxi drivers to make the switch, saying that the reduced exhaust emissions would be substantial and that drivers could save up to NT$10,000 on fuel every month.
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