Oklahoma House Speaker Chris Benge praised Gov. Brad Henry for signing three energy bills into law which he said will help to ensure Oklahoma stays at the front of the ongoing national alternative energy discussion.
Benge has been outspoken about America''s need to use local energy assets to help wean the country off volatile foreign oil. He filed several energy-related bills this legislative session to help craft a statewide energy plan that not only includes the mainstays of oil and natural gas, but also wind, geothermal and nuclear, along with conservation efforts.
Three of those bills have been signed into law, which will help Oklahomans take advantage of the state''s local alternative energy assets with natural gas for transportation and wind energy.
"Our state has a longstanding energy history in this country, and those dynamics will only continue with legislation like this in law," said Benge, R-Tulsa. "These bills have positioned our state to play a vital role in producing domestic energy sources that will spur economic development locally, all while helping to boost our country''s economic and national security."
House Bill 1949 extends an existing tax credit on the purchase of a qualified clean-burning motor vehicle for five years for compressed and liquefied natural gas and electric cars.
The credit is equal to 50 percent of the cost of a conversion of vehicles to operate on a qualified fuel, as well as those originally equipped to do so.
The legislation also includes a tax credit for businesses seeking to build infrastructure to fuel such vehicles, along with a $2,500 tax credit for consumers installing home-fueling stations.
House Bill 1952 seeks to help further expand the number of vehicles in the state running on alternative fuels like compressed natural gas. The legislation will also help expand the number of publicly available fueling stations across the state.
The bill would allow the Department of Central Services to provide fleet services to schools, county and municipal governments and provide public access to alternative fueling infrastructure in underserved areas unless a private provider locates within five miles.
The "State Fleet Management Fund" will also be amended to allow money from the fund to be used to build alternative fueling infrastructure or to acquire alternative fuel vehicles for use by state agencies or to lease to political subdivisions. The bill states that money from lease payments would be deposited into the fund.
The allowable loan amount out of the fund for a fill station will increase to $300,000, and a current cap of $10,000 per vehicle conversion will remain intact.
The bill would also repeal cost-prohibitive California Air Resources Board emission limits, and instead defer to emissions standards put in place by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. This change will make conversions easier and less cost-prohibitive but would still keep federal standards in place on all conversion kits.
Natural gas is the cleanest burning fuel in the world, and 97 percent of the U.S. supply of natural gas is produced in North America. There are 8 million natural gas vehicles in the world, though less than 100,000 of those are in the United States. Of the 234.6 million vehicles traveling on American roads, a mere 95,000 are natural gas vehicles, or 0.1 percent.
That is compared to countries like Argentina where there are 1.5 million NGVs on their roads. Both Pakistan and Iran have nearly a quarter of their vehicles running on natural gas. And they do that so they can reserve their oil to sell to the United States, further feeding America''s addiction to foreign fuel.
The European Union has mandated that 20 percent of all their vehicles must run on natural gas by 2020, and they are set to beat that timeline. In 1997, Europe has about 400 CNG fueling stations. By 2006, that number had jumped to 2,105, or an increase of over 400 percent.
But, unlike Europe and some other states currently pushing mandates, these two bills will increase the natural gas vehicle market in Oklahoma with incentives rather than requirements.
Finally, House Bill 1953 was also signed into law, which would make companies that support, repair and maintain service activities for wind industry energy companies eligible for the state''s Quality Jobs Act. This legislation would seek to attract companies to Oklahoma involved in all aspects of the wind energy industry.
The bill would give companies financial incentives to move to Oklahoma if they create new, well-paying jobs and offer their employees health insurance.
"These three bills are only the beginning when it comes to crafting a well-rounded energy plan for our state," said Benge. "I remain committed to building on these accomplishments to help spur innovation and creativity when it comes to reducing our country''s dependence on foreign oil. Oklahoma must not only play a role in developing American energy independence, but we must lead the way."