Energy Security Group Releases New Energy Policy Report

On May 19, Securing America’s Future Energy Security (SAFE) held a half day conference in Washington, DC and unveiled a new report detailing steps the country should take to bolster energy security.  The report, titled “The National Strategy for Energy Security: The Innovation Revolution” focuses on efforts to reduce the transportation sectors reliance on petroleum fuels.  The report is a project of the Energy Security Leadership Council, co-Chaired by Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President and CEO of FedEx Corporation, and General James T. Conway, 34^th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps. The Council is an alliance of business and retired military leaders dedicated to mitigating the severe threat of oil dependence to America’s economic prosperity and national security.

A major theme of the half day event and the report is encouraging innovation to advance new technologies that reduce petroleum fuel consumption and improve transportation safety such as electric drive systems, smart vehicles and driverless vehicles.  With respect to driverless cars the report provides a number of recommendations such as amending outdated federal safety rules and preempting state and local rules that impede acceptance of such vehicles.

NGVAmerica met with SAFE several weeks ago to discuss priorities for promoting the NGV marketplace.  We are pleased to report that SAFE’s report includes a number of key policy recommendations for advancing natural gas as a transportation fuel, including incentives for heavy-duty trucks, extending the $0.50 fuel credit, creation of a grant system for CNG and LNG stations along high-priority corridors, and other concepts to grow the market.  NGVAmerica will continue the dialogue with SAFE in the weeks ahead.

The SAFE report and summary are available here.