Lower cost fuel is now available to motorists in Caithness.  The Elm Tree Filling Station in Wick has become the first outlet in Caithness to sell Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), the cheaper alternative to petrol or diesel.

The proprietors of the Elm Tree Filling Station received financial assistance of £11,100 from the Rural Petrol Stations Scheme, which is managed locally by Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise (CASE).  The funding helped meet the cost of installing a storage tank and pump, which offers Caithness motorists the opportunity to significantly reduce their motoring costs.

Carroll Buxton, chief executive of CASE said: “CASE is committed to helping the rural economy through enabling individuals and businesses to benefit from the use of low-cost LPG fuel, which is widely available in many European countries and popular with tourists.”

LPG went on sale at Elm Tree at 38.9p per litre, less than half the price of petrol or diesel, and once a vehicle has been converted it can still run on petrol if LPG is unavailable.  There is now a network of qualified and approved installers as well as more than 100 refuelling points throughout Scotland and more than 1,100 in the UK. 

According to Ann Gunn of the Elm Tree Filling Station: “Since opening the LPG pump most of our sales have been to foreign tourists, however we have had a tremendous amount of interest from locals keen to convert their vehicles.”

Assistance towards the cost of vehicle conversion is available via the Scottish Executive funded ‘autogas+’ initiative with a wide range of petrol engine vehicles up to five years old eligible for a fixed grant of £800 towards the cost of an approved conversion.  Similar grants are also available towards the additional cost of purchasing a new bi-fuel vehicle

Last year CASE assistance via the Rural Petrol Stations Scheme enabled the Sutherland Arms Garage in Brora to become the first LPG outlet in Sutherland.  Additional assistance with training costs has resulted in them also being able to provide a LPG vehicle conversion service.

Anyone seeking further information about ‘autogas+’ assistance should call 0870 240 6296.