Introduced by Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), U.S. Senate Bill S. 4389 would provide a $1.00-per-gallon tax credit for the use of renewable natural gas (RNG) as a transportation fuel. A companion bill was introduced in the U.S. House earlier in the session by Reps. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.).
Andrew J. Littlefair, CEO and president of Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a leading provider of RNG, issued this statement in support of the “Renewable Natural Gas Incentive Act of 2024”:
“At a time when other alternative fuels are having difficulty finding their footing in the heavy-duty vehicle market, RNG is being accepted more and more by fleets that want to reduce their carbon emissions. A robust RNG fueling infrastructure has been built across the country with more stations being added regularly. And a new larger engine that operates on RNG manufactured by Cummins is hitting the market this summer, so the time is ripe for Congress to give a boost to the use of this remarkable fuel.
“No other fuel eliminates greenhouse gas emissions both at the source and on the road the way RNG does, giving it the best carbon-intensity score of any fuel available in significant quantities. On top of that, the production of it is giving an economic lift to the country’s agricultural industry — particularly dairies — and creating jobs in rural areas.
“We applaud the bipartisan way the RNG Incentive Act of 2024 began with strong authors in the Senate and the House and encourage continued support as it works its way through to become law of the land.”
RNG is derived from capturing the biogenic methane produced by decomposition of organic waste from dairies, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. It can reduce climate-harming greenhouse gas emissions by over 300% depending on the source of the RNG, making it a negative carbon-intensity fuel.
Thousands of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles operate using RNG every day. These include transit agencies in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego and Dallas; waste companies WM and Republic Services, and logistics companies UPS, Amazon, Saia Trucking Services and Saddle Creek Logistics Services.
