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| April 22nd, 2008 |
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Media Contact(s): Mark Eddington or Jared Whitley, (202) 224-5251 |
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Printable Version |
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SEN. HATCH SHARES GOOD NEWS ON EARTH DAY
CLEAR ACT has put more alt-fuel and hybrid vehicles on the road |
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Washington – Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) pointed to Earth Day briefings today by the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) as evidence that his CLEAR ACT legislation is having a major impact on transportation fuels.
The association’s briefing on Capitol Hill outlined the explosive growth of hybrid electric and electric vehicles in the United States.
In the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Sen. Hatch’s CLEAR ACT proposal was signed into law. CLEAR ACT is Hatch’s three-pronged strategy to use tax incentives to promote greater use of alternative fuels, a stronger alternative fuel infrastructure and more advanced car technologies on the road.
“Last year, more than 330,000 Hybrid vehicles were purchased here in the United States, and over the life of the CLEAR ACT more than a million hybrids have been added to our nation’s roads,” Hatch said. “According to an analysis by the Department of Energy, hybrid vehicles have saved close to 230 million gallons of gasoline – or 5.5 million barrels of imported oil. It also represents a reduction of about 2.53 million tons of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.”
According to the EDTA, the Toyota Prius, for example, averages 47 miles per gallon, more than double the 23 miles per gallon the typical vehicle averages. Another way to look at it: A Prius will use, on average, 8.6 barrels of oil and release 3.9 tons of greenhouse gases a year, compared to a typical vehicle which will use 17.5 barrels of oil and produce 7.2 metric tons of greenhouse gases a year.
“The CLEAR ACT has also supported a dramatic rise in the number of alternative fuel filling stations throughout the country,” Hatch noted. “Since 2005, we have gone from 150 E-85 filling stations in the U.S. to more than 1,420 today. Every gallon of E-85 sold replaces imported oil and the pollution and carbon dioxide that come with it.”
Hatch’s current legislative effort is S. 1617, the FREEDOM Act, which would provide strong tax incentives for plug-in hybrid vehicles and the U.S. manufacture of plug-in electric technologies in the transportation sector.
“If the FREEDOM Act enjoys as much success in the market as the CLEAR ACT,” Hatch said, “we will begin to see the beginning of a shift from liquid fuels to the electric grid for our transportation fuels. Electricity is cleaner, cheaper and much more abundant than liquid fuels.”
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