WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and member of the Finance Committee Energy Task Force, and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the Securing America’s Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act, legislation that would improve and expand the existing Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which is known as “30C.”
Currently, 30C provides a 30 percent ITC for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property, which includes electric charging stations and hydrogen refueling stations. However, 30C expires December 31, 2020 and the credit’s cap is currently too low to adequately incentivize investment in today’s modern refueling infrastructure technologies. To encourage more private investment in clean refueling infrastructure for vehicles that run on fuels other than gasoline, the Securing America’s Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act would increase the cap on business investments, ensure that the ITC can be applied to each item of refueling property – rather than just one location – and extend the tax credit for eight more years.
“The Securing America’s Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act is about giving American’s a real choice when it comes to transportation, and it’s about economic opportunity at a time when American’s need it most. On America’s roads and highways today, gas stations are rarely farther than the next corner or next exit. That’s not necessarily true for cleaner fuels. In order to meet our clean air and climate goals and lead the world in clean vehicle manufacturing, Americans must have greater access to hydrogen refueling and electric charging stations,” Senator Carper said. “Our legislation improves upon current tax credits to better incentivize companies to make investments today – rather than later – in the construction of clean fuel vehicle infrastructure nationwide. This is a commonsense way Congress can spur economic investments in our nation’s aging infrastructure, help reduce transportation pollution, and support the millions of Americans that are considering buying a clean car today or in the future. I’m proud to introduce this legislation with my colleague and fellow ‘recovering governor,’ Lamar Alexander.”
“Making better electric vehicles is one of the Ten Grand Challenges I proposed as part of a New Manhattan Project for Clean Energy -- a five-year project with Ten Grand Challenges using American research and technology to put our country and the world firmly on a path toward cleaner, cheaper energy,” Senator Alexander said. “When I bought my Nissan Leaf in 2011, there were very few mass produced electric cars on U.S. highways, and today, there are about one million, and automakers are planning to make millions more. As more and more Americans choose to drive electric vehicles, we will need the infrastructure to charge them and this legislation will help accomplish that.”
Today, the 30C ITC, as it is structured and interpreted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), only allows the credit to be used on a per-location basis rather than on a per-device basis, which means that only one charging station per public parking garage could qualify for the credit. That current structure and interpretation of the credit makes it difficult to finance multiple charging or refueling stations at one location, or to finance expansions of one location in the future. The Securing America’s Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act makes clear that the 30C ITC can be applied to each item of refueling property (i.e., each charger) rather than per location.
Additionally, the current $30,000 cap on business investments does not provide adequate support for the installation of today’s fast-charging electric vehicle stations or hydrogen refueling stations. The Securing America’s Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act increases the 30C ITC cap for business investments from $30,000 to $200,000 for each item of refueling property. Finally, this legislation will also extend the credit for eight more years, to December 31, 2028, ensuring that the business community has the certainty needed to make long-term investments in clean fuels infrastructure.
This bipartisan legislation has won broad support from the business and environmental communities, including from Electric Drive Transportation Association, Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, the National Wildlife Federation, ABB, ChargePoint, Duke, Eaton, Electrify America, Enel X, EVGO, Greenlots, Honda, SRP (Salt River Project), Tesla, Toyota and Volkswagen Group of America.
“Accelerating investment in infrastructure is a crucial step in securing the economic, employment, energy and environmental benefits of electric transportation. EDTA applauds the bipartisan leadership of Senators Carper and Alexander in introducing legislation that will update the incentive for alternative fuel infrastructure at this critical moment for the industry,” said Genevieve Cullen, President of the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA). “The Securing America’s Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act will help to grow the market, expand choices for drivers and ensure U.S. leadership in the global market for electric transportation technology.”
“The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) supports the Securing America’s Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act and its effort to expand access to critical hydrogen refueling infrastructure in the United States. This will enable the United States to preserve a leadership role in zero-emission fuel cell vehicles, which will be crucial in meeting our future clean transportation requirements, while maintaining America’s economic, environmental, and national security,” said Morry Markowitz, President of FCHEA.
“EVgo strongly supports the Securing America’s Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act and thanks Senators Carper and Alexander and their staffs for their leadership on transportation electrification in the U.S.,” said Jonathan Levy, Senior Vice President for Business Development at EVgo, the nation’s largest public fast charging network for electric vehicles (EVs). “The extension and modification of the 30C tax credit will help support continued growth of EV charging infrastructure to meet driver needs across the country, while helping put Americans to work and improving air quality. EVgo supports this important legislation and other programs that provide certainty in the market and encourage private investment in America’s transition to a clean transportation future.”
“The Securing America’s Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act will create a stable, long-term incentive that will meaningfully impact private sector investment in critical transportation infrastructure. It will put thousands of electrical and construction workers on the job and back to work when the economy needs it most, and it will mitigate the EV industry’s chicken-and-egg problem. And it will do so without undercutting the influence of market forces when it comes to the type and location of new chargers,” said Matthew Nelson, Director of Government Affairs for Electrify America in a letter to Senators Carper and Alexander. “Passage of the Securing America’s Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act has the potential to transform the passenger vehicle landscape, create thousands of jobs, and make driving an electric vehicle a legitimate option for millions of Americans.”
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