Congressman Sander Levin

Levin Introduces Biofuels Infrastructure Bill

Currently, there are more than 6 million flexible fuel vehicles on our nation's roads, but because there are so few E85 pumps, not many vehicles actually run on this home-grown fuel. Less than 1% of the 170,000 fuel stations in the U.S. offer E85 ethanol or biodiesel to customers.

One key barrier is the high cost of installing the needed refueling infrastructure. Under current law, the federal government provides a tax credit equal to 30% of the cost of installing alternative refueling pumps and tanks, or up to $30,000. Unfortunately, the cost of installing a new a new fuel dispenser and tank is often much higher.

To address this problem, I introduced legislation [H.R. 2039, the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Act] to provide a tax credit of up to $50,000 to gas stations to install alternative refueling pumps and tanks. Fuels that qualify for the credit are those that include at least 85% ethanol, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, and hydrogen, as well as any mixture of diesel and biodiesel containing at least 20% biodiesel.