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

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China will waive sales taxes on 49 domestically made electric and fuel cell cars, the finance ministry said last Saturday, in its latest initiative to shore up the country’s fledgling green car market. As an added incentive, buyers of locally made electric cars are also eligible for government subsidies of up to 120,000 yuan ($19,100) [...]

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Market development is required for increased use of biomethane in the transport sector, and support in the U.S. currently lags well behind that in the European Union. An official UK Environmental Audit states that “biomethane is an almost perfect renewable transport fuel.” The audit concludes that wide adoption of CNG and biomethane for transport will deliver the greatest air quality benefits at the lowest cost, especially when compared to expensive battery powered hybrid electric vehicles….Read more

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A recent report from the Department of Energy recommends a significant shift of government led technology investment to developing cleaner transportation energy. Beyond improving fuel efficiency, the DOE seems to have concluded that electrification of fleets represents the next best step. Why? 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

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Why the push for electric vehicles? Are they clean environmentally and/or an efficient use of fossil fuel energy?…Read More

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The Presidential Memorandum isn’t just a “feel good” exercise; the Federal Government operates the largest light duty fleet in the US. Military and other emergency vehicles are exempt from this order.
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In the wake of the nuclear disaster in Japan, Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced that the country needed to “start from scratch” to develop a new energy policy. For the time being, plans to build new nuclear reactors have been shelved as Kan told reporters that Japan needs to do more to promote renewable energy.
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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

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After a hard fought win on health care, Congressional allies of the Obama administration are now beginning to refocus on climate change and energy policy. Unlike the health care debate, which split sharply along partisan lines, Senators on both sides of the aisle are working on climate legislation, and that inevitably includes the use of alternative fuels… Read more

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