Obama Proposes Tax Credits to Promote Natural-Gas Use in Trucking Industry

President Obama has proposed giving those who buy trucks powered by natural gas a 50% tax credit on the price differential between natural-gas and diesel-powered trucks.

Trucks that use natural gas can cost at least $40,000 more than trucks powered by diesel.

The tax credits are part of Obama’s Energy Security Trust, a comprehensive climate and energy proposal unveiled March 15, the same day he visited the Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago.

Argonne, a nonprofit research laboratory operated by the University of Chicago for the U.S. Department of Energy, is conducting research that could lead to battery-powered trucks.