Members of Congress continue to add support to the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act of 2009 (NAT GAS Act; HR 1835/S 1408). Both the House and Senate bills seek to accelerate the production and use of natural gas-fueled vehicles. Currently there are more than 100 co-sponsors of the bill in the House of Representatives and the Senate bill continues to garner bi-partisan support.
The House and Senate bills seek to:
- Extend the tax credits for natural gas used as a vehicle fuel, the purchase of natural gas-fueled vehicles, and the installation of natural gas vehicle refueling properties
- Allow the natural gas vehicle and natural gas fueling infrastructure credits to count against the AMT provisions
- Require that federal fleets purchase alternative fuel vehicles unless the agency can show that the fuel is unavailable or the vehicle is impractical
Natural gas is the cleanest commercially available fuel for transportation and costs less for transportation than gasoline or diesel. Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) produce between 93-95 percent less overall toxins compared to gasoline and diesel vehicles, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20–30 percent compared with diesel and gasoline fueled vehicles.
In a study from S.1408 co-sponsor Mark Udall’s home state, a research organization predicts the number of natural-gas vehicles on the road worldwide will nearly double by 2015, to 17 million.
The research firm noted that countries like Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil, Iran, and India lead the world in natural-gas vehicle adoption. They predicted that over the next five years Canada, India, and the United States will be the fastest growing markets. Passing the NAT GAS Act will make it easier for the U.S. to start utilizing our domestic and abundant reserves of natural gas for transportation fuel.
"Governments, fleet managers, and consumers are increasingly recognizing the environmental benefits of lower emissions from natural gas vehicles," Pike industry analyst Dave Hurst said in a statement accompanying the report.
