Bipartisan legislation was introducedin the House that encourages more domestic production and usage of natural gas by way of extended tax credits.

The New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions of 2011, or NatGas Act, was scheduled to be read by Reps. John Sullivan (R-OK), Dan Boren (D-OK), John Larson (D-CT) and Kevin Brady (R-TX). The bill also has 76 original co-sponsors.

The bill provides incentives for the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel; the purchase of natural gas fueled vehicles; and the installation of natural gas vehicle refueling property. Each of these incentives would be in place for five years. Key provisions include:

• A tax credit for up to 80 percent of the incremental cost of buying a natural gas vehicle, with a maximum value ranging from $7,500 for a light-duty passenger vehicle to $64,000 for the heaviest trucks. The bill includes incentives for both bi-fuel vehicles, those that run on either natural gas or gasoline, and dual-fueled vehicles, where there is a mixture of small amount of diesel fuel with the natural gas. There are no vehicle tax credits in place today.
• Extension of the current 50-cent per gallon fuel tax credit
• An infrastructure tax credit of 5 percent of the cost up to a maximum tax credit of $100,000 per station. For stations built this year,an existing infrastructure tax credit of 30 percent with a maximum credit of $30,000 is available. The credits cover only a small portion of the cost of building a station. This credit would also extend to home refueling units, where purchases would be eligible for a $2,000 tax credit.
• A tax credit to the manufacturer for the production of natural gas vehicles.

“This comprehensive legislation is driven by the need for America to quickly reduce its dependence on foreign oil while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gases and urban pollution,” said Richard Kolodziej, president of NGVAmerica, in a prepared statement.

Kolodziej added that the five-year period for extended tax credits is "critical" in prompting fleets to switch to the fuel because it creates stability in the market and assurances for fleet owners as they make purchasing decisions.

“This is particularly important in the market for heavy-duty vehicles,” added Kolodziej. “Heavy-duty vehicles account for about 25 percent of all the on-road fuel consumed in this country, so moving more of these vehicles to natural gas can make the fastest impact on reducing our dependency on foreign oil.”