JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In a first of a kind effort, a broad coalition of ethanol producers, automakers, agricultural advocates, convenience store owners, petroleum marketers, and equipment manufactures, are encouraging the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives to include tax credits that support new alternative fuel infrastructure in any pending energy bill or stimulus package.
"Both presidential candidates and several members of Congress have recently called for mandatory production of flexible fuel vehicles," said executive director of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, Phil [image-nocss] Lampert. "We support increased production of flexible-fuel vehicles or FFVs, but frankly, that overlooks the primary issue which is the lack of sites to fuel these vehicles. Chrysler, GM, and Ford have each pledged to manufacture 50% of their entire vehicle line as flexible fuel in model year 2012, if infrastructure develops. Currently, we have less than 1,800 fueling sites where consumers can find E85. This compares with the more than 164,000 gasoline stations. More FFVs are certainly needed, however today, the most important objective is to increase the number of stations that offer E85 and other high level blends of ethanol."
The coalition sending the letter to the Speaker is encouraging that H.R. 6734, the E85 & Biodiesel Access Act introduced byRepresentative Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-S.D.) andRep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), be included in any energy legislation that may be approved during this session of Congress.
The E85 & Biodiesel Access Act would enhance the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit. Currently, the existing credit allows gas stations owners to claims a 30% tax credit for the cost of installing clean fueling equipment, up to a maximum of $30,000 or 30% of the total cost. Additionally, the IRS limits the credit only to the amount a duel fuel dispenser exceeds the cost of a conventional dispenser. The E85 and Biodiesel Access Act would increase the credit from 30% of the cost of clean fueling property to 50% and increase the maximum credit to $100,000. The act would also extend the existing credit which is currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2009.
"The inclusion of the E85 and Biodiesel Access Act in any energy bill or potential stimulus package is critical as it provides fuel retailers with more meaningful assistance in making clean-burning biofuels available to motorists," said executive vice president for the American Coalition for Ethanol, Brian Jennings. "The Herseth-Sandlin/Shimkus bill would also allow blender pumps to receive the full value of the credit. Today, the IRS has ruled that only the portion of new pumps that directly dispense E85 are eligible for the credit. Installation of blender pumps require that the entire pump be correctly configured and as such, the entire pump should be eligible for the credit."
Vice president for government relations of the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) John Eichberger said that the legislation would, "overcome one of the major obstacles to the availability of alternative and renewable fuels infrastructure by offsetting a major portion of the expense of such equipment. The Congress must create more favorable conditions for retailers to enter into the alternative fuel business and H.R. 6734 would do so. We encourage the Speaker to consider including this important bill in any energy or stimulus legislation that might come out of the final days of this session of Congress."
A copy of the E85& Biodiesel Access Act (H.R. 6734) can be found by clicking here.
A copy of the letter to Speaker Pelosi can be found by clicking here.
To view a chart of the number of E85 stations in comparison to the number of gas stations, click here.
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