State legislators are considering ways to collect “fair use” fees from electric vehicle (EV) owners, since drivers of plug-in EVs avoid paying taxes at the gas pump…Read more.

alternative fuels, Legislation, Vehicles Hide

President Obama called for more use of natural gas in transportation this Thursday while visiting a UPS facility in Las Vegas. We commend the President for recognizing the immediate benefit of using a clean, domestic fuel such as natural gas: “A great place to start is natural gas,” stated Obama.…Read more

alternative fuels, Alternative Fuels Policy, FirmGreen, jobs, natural gas, Vehicles Hide

The Obama administration says that proposed higher fuel economy standards can be expected to increase vehicle prices about $2000 but that owners will save an average of $6,600 in fuel costs over the life of the vehicle.

In order to be as realistic as possible (see chart above), we made a slightly less rosy analysis but there are still real savings to be had with more fuel efficient vehicle…Read more

FirmGreen, fuel prices, Legislation, Vehicles Hide

Neither political party stateside has put much emphasis on manufacturing policy in recent decades. But, as manufacturing has declined from about 28% of the US gross domestic product (GDP) during the 1950’s to less than 12% of the annual GDP today, the finance, insurance and real estate sectors have proven to be a less than adequate replacement…Read more

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2011 has seen the introduction of several bills related to alternative fuels and alternative fueled vehicles (AFVs) in the 112th Congress. Notably, S.1001 and S.734 have now been placed on the Senate’s calendar of business…Read more

alternative fuels, Alternative Fuels Policy, biofuels, energy policy, Legislation, Vehicles Hide

Congress passed and the President signed a new tax bill that dramatically affects the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) as a vehicle fuel. For heavy users of fuel this will be an excellent system of incentives. For small users and private vehicles this is not a good incentive structure. The new legislation affects the tax credits for equipment used in compressing natural gas (fueling station equipment), the credits for conversons and re-engine procedures, plus the Excise Tax Rebate on CNG fuel…..Read more

alternative fuels, Alternative Fuels Policy, Clean Fuels, CNG, energy policy, fleets, NGVs, Vehicles Hide