This charming little Tata car runs on both propane autogas and natural gas. But sadly, it's only sold in India. (image: indianautosblog.com)
The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), the fuel’s most prominent trade group, is criticizing a new proposal in Congress that offers incentives for natural gas-powered vehicles, but snubs LPG-powered ones.
Introduced to the U.S. House this week, the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions (NATGAS) Act would provide tax credits for the purchase and manufacture of natural gas vehicles, and the creation of fueling stations to support them. The bill offers a credit up to 80-percent of the cost of the vehicle, capped at $7,500 for passenger cars and $64,000 for heavy-duty trucks. There would be a 50-percent credit for fueling stations, capped at $100,000 per station. In addition, the proposal extends an existing 50-cent per gallon credit.
But if the objective of lawmakers is to put more alternative fuel vehicles on the road, the bill is a “half-measure,” the NPGA said in a prepared statement. As a road fuel, propane autogas boasts a similar resume to natural gas: lower emissions, produced in North America, with a refueling infrastructure already in place.
“The NATGAS Act recognizes the role alternative fuel vehicles can have in reducing foreign oil consumption and cleaning up our environment,” says Richard Roldan, president of the NPGA. “However, by excluding propane autogas vehicles, the legislation ignores an equally useful, abundant, domestic fuel available right now to serve Americans.”
Have a look at the NPGA statement here. Or read up more on the NATGAS bill here.