August 13, 2022. NGVAmerica announces its success in securing a three-year extension of the Alternative Fuels Tax Credit (AFTC). The extensive advocacy effort captained by NGVAmerica culminated in passage of H.R. 5376, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, approved yesterday by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The large climate and energy package negotiated by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) was previously approved by the U.S. Senate on August 7th. The bill is expected to be signed into law by the President next week. This action will extend the $0.50/gallon AFTC through December 31, 2024.
“If we want clean air, we need clean trucks and buses,” said NGVAmerica President Daniel Gage. “By extending the AFTC through 2024, Congress signals how important clean technology natural gas vehicles are to growing our economy, improving our air quality, and enhancing our energy security while reducing our carbon footprint.”
Natural gas vehicles are powered by American fuel, American technology, and American innovation. No commercially available, scalable heavy-duty powertrain solution runs cleaner than natural gas. AFTC’s extension is important to provide investment certainty for fleets working to reduce their environmental footprint and address clean air and climate change sustainability goals.
“This legislation provides the added needed incentive for fleets of all sizes – public and private – to transition to clean natural gas transportation fuel,” said Gage. “Heavy-duty vehicles are the fastest growing vehicle segment and among the largest contributors of pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. Natural gas vehicles are zero emission equivalent and can be carbon-neutral – even negative – depending on the natural gas source.”