Posted on 05/14/2014 9:54:13 AM PDT by thackney
Drivers will now be able to get up to $2,500 in state incentives to help purchase alternative-fuel vehicles, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality announced this week.
Officials with TCEQ said it’s the first time the agency has offered an alternative fuel vehicle incentive program specifically geared towards light-duty vehicles. The incentive program was part of state legislation that was approved by the state legislature a year ago.
Joe Walton, manager of the implementation grants section at TCEQ, said previous efforts to launch the program had sputtered as they’ve failed to get funding.
The new program will provide up to $7.7 million in incentives to help defray the cost of leasing or buying light-duty vehicles powered by electricity, compressed natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas, also known as propane. Until now, the agency’s incentives have applied to heavy- and medium- duty vehicles that were geared toward fleet applications.
But now, buyers of consumer-grade vehicles like the electric Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt, or CNG versions of the Honda Civic or Ford F-150, are eligible.
The changes were part of the state’s Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, which offers financial incentives for lower-emissions vehicles as part of en effort to improve air quality in the state. TCEQ had been sorting out the rules of what type of vehicles would be eligible for the program since last year.
The program runs through June 2015 but will conclude if it runs out of money earlier.
The program would only partially offset the cost of the alternative fuel vehicles, which generally cost significantly more than their gasoline-powered counterparts. Converting an F-150 to run on CNG, for example, can cost $7,500 to $9,500, and the Chevrolet Volt costs about $34,185, more than many luxury sedans.
But Walton emphasized that TCEQ’s incentives can be combined with other grant programs offered by the state as well as the federal government. The federal government offers tax credits of $2,500 to $7,500 for some electric vehicles, for example.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, officials were preparing for a grand opening of San Antonio’s first CNG station in a move they say will help provide a vital link for drivers making trips between Houston, San Antonio and Dallas. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Texas has 44 public CNG stations.
I hate that kind of stuff, it’s stupid
Stupid and ignorant.
Amen, subsidies should have already been phased out.
When the money runs out, they better shut it down, or those voting for this PR-motivated policy should lose their seats.
I do notice that Texas has some problems of its own.
Not to worry.......it will fail and be long forgotten.
But then, the state will turn around and charge such beneficiaries a surcharge to cover the necessarily lessened gas tax collections, like everywhere else.
If they would use Texas CNG and home garage systems this would be a great idea. There is a company in Oklahoma that makes an overnight CNG that can refill a tank over night using your house natural gas. That way the first 100 miles would be at a much less per gallon cost. http://www.hypresequip.com/compressed-natural-gas-home-fill-station
There one and only one problem with CNG. The Pumps to fill tanks( within 10 minutes) are enormously expensive. Compressing gas to 3000psi is no easy feat.
There will be a definite advantage to the commercial stations that are located where they can get a tap off the transmission line at ~1,000 psi versus the in-town station with the low pressure distribution line.
Home compression overnight can take 8 hours so the slow flow helps keep those units more affordable. I think it was GE that claimed they were going to produce one for $500; haven’t seen it out yet.
There are charging stations downtown and at several malls in San Antonio. I have never seen one used. Not once. Thanks, Mayor Castro...
CNG does not require the vehicle to be a pile of crap.
Funny how you never see the natural gas or electricity providers using CNG or electric vehicles in their own fleets.
I’ve seen a lot of CNG vehicles at gas companies.
So they want more coal cars, but don’t like coal? Oh wait, do they stilllllll think electricity just comes from the wall?
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