Leander ISD is boosting its environmental efforts by adding 24 propane-powered buses to its fleet. The new propane buses will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 31,200 pounds and particulate matter emissions by more than 635 pounds annually, according to a news release. LISD acquired the buses after it received a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality financial grant that rebated 60 percent of the purchase price. LISD Director of Transportation Steve Stripling said the total purchase price was about $1.75 million, and the TCEQ will issue the rebate “any day now.” The new buses replace 20 diesel buses that, in accordance with the grant, had to be destroyed and turned into scrap metal at a state-certified facility in San Antonio, Stripling said. The transportation department considered other forms of alternative fuel, Stripling said, including electricity and compressed natural gas. But LISD already had the infrastructure to service the propane-fueled buses because it acquired its first fleet through a TCEQ grant in 2009, he said. “This was by far the most economical [option],” Stripling said. “The facilities are already here.” Stripling also said the propane technology has proven dependable, and as TCEQ grants become available, the district plans to apply for funds that would allow it to purchase more propane-fueled buses. The district operates a total of 270 propane- and diesel-fueled buses, and the most recent additions bring LISD’s total number of propane-fueled buses to 64, Stripling said. The district also expects to add four propane-fueled special education buses to its fleet of 72 before the end of September, Stripling said. The new propane-fueled Blue Bird Vision buses contain a Ford Motor Company engine equipped with a ROUSH CleanTech propane autogas fuel system. Michigan-based ROUSH CleanTech designs, engineers, manufactures and installs propane autogas fuel systems for light- and medium-duty Ford commercial vehicles, and Blue Bird school buses, according to a news release.