NGV Related Items in the President’s FY 2016 Budget Request

This week, the President’s FY 2016 Budget request was unveiled. The request includes several issues of interest to the NGV industry. The President proposes three tax credits to benefit NGVs, including 1.) a reduction in the excise taxes on LNG to bring it into parity with diesel (see related article); 2.) a tax credit for medium and heavy duty alternative fuel commercial vehicles, ranging from $25,000 to $40,000, respectively, and 3.) a tax credit for a new light duty advanced technology vehicle that operates primarily on an alternative fuel to petroleum fuels. This light duty vehicle tax credit would be capped at $10,000. Meanwhile, in the research, development and deployment arena the U.S. DOE has asked to support 1.) new awards (up to $40 million) for an initiative to research, develop and demonstrate a suite of technologies with the goal to improve the freight hauling efficiency of heavy duty Class 8 long-haul vehicles; and 2.) an additional $10 million for DOE’s natural gas R&D in the transportation sector for on-board storage. The President also proposes a $25 million increase to $49 million for the Clean Cities program, but proposes a $20 million reduction over the 2015 enacted level to $10 million for EPA’s DERA program.