Seal Beach, Calif. (Nov. 15, 2011) — A bill introduced today in the U.S. Senate — the NAT GAS Act of 2011 — would provide increased support for the movement to deploy large numbers of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in the United States, according to Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq: CLNE).
The bi-partisan-sponsored legislation would provide a five-year extension of tax credit incentives for the purchase of NGVs. The bill would also encourage manufacturers to produce dedicated NGVs.
Introduced by Senators Harry Reid (D-NV), Richard Burr (R-NC), Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Saxby Chambliss, (R-GA), the proposed legislation is driven by the need for America to quickly reduce its dependence on foreign oil while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions and urban pollution. To achieve these goals, the bill’s objective is to accelerate the production and use of natural gas-fueled vehicles. The legislation would expand the NGV tax incentive to help offset an NGV vehicle’s incremental cost, subject to caps depending upon vehicle size.
“The backing by Congress is critical for our nation to succeed in its goal of utilizing domestic natural gas instead of imported petroleum, and we applaud efforts to achieve this important objective,” said Andrew J. Littlefair, Clean Energy President and CEO.
“There are about eight million Class 5 through 8 heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. These trucks range from delivery to refuse trucks to over-the-road 18-wheelers and use upwards of 30 billion gallons of fuel annually. Helping the owners of these vehicles replace their diesel trucks with trucks running on CNG or LNG can have an immediate, measurable effect. In addition, we believe that moving America’s heavy-duty truck fleet from diesel to natural gas will have the effect of creating over 400,000 direct and indirect new jobs over the next five years.”
Currently priced up to $1.50 or more per gallon lower than diesel or gasoline (depending upon local markets), the use of natural gas fuel reduces costs significantly for vehicle and fleet owners, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions up to 30% in light-duty vehicles and 23% in medium to heavy-duty vehicles. Additionally, natural gas is a secure North American energy source with 98% of the natural gas consumed produced in the U.S. and Canada.
Clean Energy (Nasdaq: CLNE) is the largest provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America and a global leader in the expanding natural gas vehicle market. It has operations in CNG and LNG vehicle fueling, construction and operation of CNG and LNG fueling stations, biomethane production, vehicle conversion and compressor technology.
Clean Energy fuels over 25,200 vehicles at 257 strategic locations across the United States and Canada with a broad customer base in the refuse, transit, trucking, shuttle, taxi, airport and municipal fleet markets. We are building “America’s Natural Gas Highway”, a network comprised initially of more than 100 LNG truck fueling stations connecting major freight trucking corridors across the country. Clean Energy del Peru, a joint venture, fuels vehicles and provides CNG to commercial customers in Peru. We own (70%) and operate a landfill gas facility in Dallas, Texas, that produces renewable natural gas, or biomethane, for delivery in the nation’s gas pipeline network, and we plan to build a second facility in Michigan. We own and operate LNG production plants in Willis, Texas and Boron, Calif. with combined capacity of 260,000 LNG gallons per day and that are designed to expand to 340,000 LNG gallons per day as demand increases. NorthStar, a wholly owned subsidiary, is the recognized leader in LNG/LCNG (liquefied to compressed natural gas) fueling system technologies and station construction and operations. BAF Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, is a leading provider of natural gas vehicle systems and conversions for taxis, vans, pick-up trucks and shuttle buses. IMW Industries, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary based in Canada, is a leading supplier of compressed natural gas equipment for vehicle fueling and industrial applications with more than 1,200 installations in 24 countries. For more information, visit www.cleanenergyfuels.com
Forward-Looking Statements — This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including statements about the benefits of the bill, the demand for and deployment of heavy-duty natural gas vehicles, the price of natural gas vehicles relative to diesel vehicles, and the benefits of moving America’s heavy-duty truck fleet from diesel to natural gas. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including the factors described in the reports and other documents the Company files with the SEC (available at www.sec.gov). The forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless otherwise required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.