OKLAHOMA CITY and TULSA – House Speaker Chris Benge announced the first part of his energy plan with a goal of making it financially possible for Oklahomans to immediately make the transition to low-cost alternative fuel cars, reducing the demand for foreign oil.
The current barriers to compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles are convenience and affordability, both of which are directly addressed in Benge’s plan. The goal announced today will be to double the number of publically available CNG fueling stations in the next five years. The plan also extends state tax credits meant to compliment federal credits and bring the cost of CNG vehicles down to levels Oklahoma families can afford.
The Speaker’s Goal: To double the number of Oklahoma’s publicly available CNG stations in 5 years.
How:
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1. Investing in and expanding our public CNG stations
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2. Incentivizing private fueling businesses to expand into the CNG market
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3. Financially helping fleets, especially with the state, cities and school districts, build CNG filling stations. The Speaker is also looking at the option of allowing Oklahoma schools to include a public component as part of their infrastructure, which would further expand the grid of available alternative fuels stations for the public while also giving our schools a unique option in creating a new revenue stream for operating expenses
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4. Expanding low and zero interest loan programs offered by the state to help both state agencies and private entities with infrastructure and conversion costs
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5. Extending a state tax credit on the purchase of a CNG vehicle and home re-fueling station
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6. Working with our Congressional delegation to ensure federal credits and grant programs are also extended and possibly restructured
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7. Building up Career Tech programs to train technicians to work on natural gas vehicles (NGVs)
“Oklahoma families can no longer afford to depend on foreign sources for their energy,” said Benge, R-Tulsa. “To me, this is a national security issue, and one that threatens our stability and very way of life in our state and country. We can no longer be complacent when it comes to using alternatives to costly and increasingly dangerous foreign oil, especially when it comes to local resources that are plentiful right here in Oklahoma.”
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 travelling 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, the Speaker wants to present a concrete plan to increase the NGV market in Oklahoma with incentives rather than requirements.
“There is no reason why Oklahoma, one of the leading natural gas producers in the nation, cannot double the number of CNG pumps that are available to the public in five years,” said Benge. “At the same time, I must stress that it will take an all-of-the-above solution to wean us from our addiction to foreign oil, including wind and solar energies, biofuels, compressed and liquefied natural gas, clean coal, geothermal and nuclear technologies, expanding our domestic drilling capacity all while also placing an emphasis on conservation.”
To move more people into the natural gas vehicle market, the state must appeal to them economically, Benge said. For Oklahoma, getting consumers to move toward NGVs is about more than lower pump prices and reducing our dependency on foreign oil.
Oklahoma’s two largest cities, Tulsa and Oklahoma City, will benefit financially by avoiding non-attainment status with cleaner air and fewer emissions. Oklahoma alternative fuels companies will also prosper as they are able to do more business locally, which will grow the state’s economy and job-base.
The announcement came at the Speaker’s first stops on his recently-announced statewide energy tour. In the coming months, Benge will be traveling around the state highlighting Oklahoma’s progress in the alternative fuels market, especially with natural gas, wind and geothermal technologies.
At each stop, Benge will discuss his plans with each of those technologies as he continues to develop a comprehensive energy plan to present to the Legislature for consideration next session.
The Speaker will next stop in Washington, D.C. as part of a local business delegation going to appeal to federal officials to move forward with alternative energy options. It is critical that state leaders work closely with Oklahoma’s Congressional delegation, which has already been active in pushing energy alternatives on the national stage, Benge said.
“Our addiction to foreign oil isn’t a problem that is going to be solved overnight,” said Benge. “Together with other states and federal officials, we can use each of our strengths to move us in that direction. But, we must start now.”
“Oklahoma is poised to take advantage of what is becoming a national movement for alternative fuels,” said Benge. “States can lead the way, and no one is better situated than Oklahoma to be a national leader.”
