Mar 29, 2010 11:47 AM

Faster growth in the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel would provide increased energy security, cleaner air, less greenhouse gas emissions, and more US jobs, the president of NGVAmerica told the US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee recently.

Richard Kolodziej, president of NGVAmerica, said Congress should help make that happen. He urged the senators to establish transportation policies that support natural gas as a transportation fuel.

Kolodziej, who testified before the committee’s hearing on “Opportunities to Improve Energy Security and the Environment through Transportation Policy,” said the most effective immediate action Congress could take was passing the “New Alternative to Give Americans Solutions” (NAT GAS) Act (S 1408).

Passage of the NAT GAS Act would extend and expand the existing federal financial incentives for buying and using natural gas vehicles. This would be especially important for the high-fuel-use vehicle fleets, such as trash trucks, transit buses, short-haul 18-wheelers, school buses, urban delivery vehicles, and shuttles of all kinds.

“While there are many options to displace gasoline in light-duty vehicles,” Kolodziej said, “there are very few options to displace diesel in heavier vehicles. Of those options, natural gas can make the biggest impact fastest.”

With appropriate federal policy support, NGVs could be displacing 10 billion gallons of diesel and gasoline within 15 years, says Kolodziej. This would have significant environmental benefits.

“For example, the California Air Resources Board recently concluded that on a well-to-wheels basis, NGVs produce 22% less greenhouse gases than comparable diesel vehicles and 29% less than comparable gasoline vehicles,” he told the committee. “EPA’s announcement that it is considering further tightening of the national ozone standards means that more cities and counties than ever will be looking for economic alternatives for ozone reduction, and that will mean more NGVs.”

For more information, visit www.ngvamerica.org.