Yesterday, the House of Representatives, by unanimous consent, passed H.R. 1622 – a bill that would direct the Secretary of Energy to: (1) conduct a five-year program of natural gas vehicle research, development, and demonstration; and (2) coordinate with the natural gas vehicle industry and with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding streamlining the certification of natural gas conversion systems to federal certification requirements and in-use emission standards.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK), who has been a champion in support of natural gas vehicle issues.

“We commend Mr. Sullivan’s committed leadership on this issue,” said Richard Kolodziej, president of NGVAmerica. “NGVs can make an even greater impact on displacing foreign oil while reducing greenhouse gases and urban pollution. But to do so we need more natural gas engines integrated into more vehicle platforms. The two parts of this bill would help do that by providing federally supported R&D funding and streamlining the EPA certification process for conversion equipment to get more conversion equipment into the market faster and with less cost.”

The bill would authorize $30 million a year from fiscal 2010 to 2014 for natural gas vehicle research and development.

Source: BusinessWire