The US Congress has recognised the important role clean diesel technology will play in meeting America’s future energy and environmental goals, the Diesel Technology Forum said in a statement.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The final energy bill produced by a House-Senate conference includes two key diesel-related provisions: a new national incentive programme to encourage clean diesel retrofit and consumer tax credits for the purchase of diesel cars, pick-ups and SUVs.
“These clean diesel programmes will help to continue improvement in America’s air quality and will reduce US dependence on petroleum,” the forum said.
“The Diesel Emissions Reduction Amendment (DERA) provides $US1 billion over five years to speed the transition to cleaner diesel. It establishes national and state-level voluntary retrofit programs to encourage equipment owners to upgrade their fleets with new clean diesel technology. A broad coalition of environmentalists, public officials and diesel manufacturers agree that DERA represents one of the most significant steps America can take to continue our nation’s remarkable clean air progress.
“Congress has acknowledged that both clean diesels and hybrids will help boost US fuel efficiency by making the two technologies eligible for the same advanced-vehicle consumer tax credits. These incentives are an important step in expanding the market for energy efficient vehicles. Thanks in part to tax incentives, there will be nearly 10 hybrid models for sale in the US by the end of the year – up from only two models in 2001 when Congress first enacted the hybrid incentives. Now that diesel vehicles will be eligible for the same advanced-vehicle credits as hybrids, we – along with a growing chorus of industry analysts – expect similar growth in the clean diesel market.”
According to the forum, the US Department of Energy estimates that a 30% penetration of clean diesel technology in the US car, truck and SUV market by 2020 would reduce net crude oil consumption by 350,000 barrels per day.
