Natural gas CEO says gas as truck fuel good for America's economy

The head of the largest provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America, Clean Energy Fuels, believes that developing the natural gas-powered vehicle industry will be good for the US economy. Andrew Littlefair testified before a congressional subcommittee that supporting natural gas for transportation will create over 400,000 new jobs and enhance US energy security.

America has more than eight million heavy-duty trucks, ranging from municipal refuse collecting trucks to 18-wheelers, using upwards of 35 billion gallons of fuel annually. Replacing these diesel-fueled trucks with trucks that run on LNG would have "an immediate measurable effect."

He points out that the incremental cost of a natural gas truck over a diesel truck has been dropping: three years ago, the natural gas truck cost between $60,000 and $100,000 more than the diesel. Today the difference has fallen to about $35,000 more for natural gas. That differential, he says, "will quickly disappear" as the benefits of natural gas as a transportation fuel become obvious.

At present the government is providing a tax credit as an incentive to switch from diesel to gas. Littlefair maintains the incentive will no longer be necessary as the per-unit cost of a truck drops further.

He states that "studies have shown" that converting America's heavy-duty truck fleet to natural gas from diesel will create "over 400,000 direct and indirect" new jobs over the next five years.

It would also save America about 2.5 million barrels of oil a day. This, he asserts, would reduce America's reliance on OPEC oil by half. In dollars, this would amount, at $100 per barrel, to $250 million a day.

Since LNG is currently priced $1.50–$2.00 below diesel or gasoline, the savings on fuel for vehicle and fleet owners is substantial. As well, the reduction in greenhouse emissions, up to 30 per cent in light-duty vehicles and 23 per cent in heavy-duty, would be good for the environment.