May 25, 2024. U.S. Senate Bill S. 4389 was introduced by Senators Mark Warner from Virginia and Thom Tillis from North Carolina, which will provide a $1.00 per gallon tax credit for the use of renewable natural gas (RNG) as a transportation fuel.
The new bill updates legislation introduced in the 117th Congress – S. 4568 – by then Senator Richard Burr and Senator Warner and complements a similar bill – H.R. 2448 – introduced in the U.S. House earlier this session by Representatives Linda Sanchez and Brian Fitzpatrick.
The Renewable Natural Gas Incentive Act of 2024 would create a $1.00 per gallon tax credit for dispensers of renewable natural gas used for transportation, thereby encouraging commercial truck and transit fleets to convert their vehicles to ultra-low emission biomethane.
In 2023, 79 percent of all on-road fuel used nationwide in natural gas vehicles was from a renewable source.
Andrew J. Littlefair, CEO and president of Clean Energy Fuels Corp., the country’s largest provider of RNG, issued a statement in support of the Renewable Natural Gas Incentive Act of 2024: “At a time when other alternative fuels are having difficulty finding their footing in the heavy-duty vehicle market, RNG is being accepted more and more by fleets that want to reduce their carbon emissions. A robust RNG fueling infrastructure has been built across the country with more stations being added regularly. And a new larger engine that operates on RNG manufactured by Cummins is hitting the market this summer so, the time is ripe for Congress to give a boost to the use of this remarkable fuel”.
“Transitioning to RNG-fueled vehicles can save money and reduce emissions, and deploys new, affordable, cleaner, and compliant technology without delay and without compromising business operations,” said The Transport Project President Daniel Gage. “More and more commercial fleets are discovering how allocating RNG as transportation fuel can help achieve more sustainable results immediately. We are fortunate to have bipartisan, bicameral support in decarbonizing commercial trucking through RNG and getting this credit passed into law in this Congress.”