Flex Fuel Hybrid Vehicles Benefit Environment, Make US Energy Independent (Rep. Jerry Weller)

I recently had the chance to get a look at a concept vehicle that could help us achieve the twin goals of energy independence and environmental stewardship.

Ford Motor Co. is developing a concept marrying the flex fuel technology with the hybrid technology.  Both of these systems are already available separately on vehicles in the marketplace: The flex fuel capability allows a vehicle to operate on a fuel blend of 85 percent ethanol, and the hybrid technology saves gas by operating on electricity in certain conditions.

There are a number of reasons combining these technologies in one vehicle is an exciting breakthrough.  First, experts believe the fuel efficiency reached by these vehicles could be as high as 700 miles per tank of fuel.  Ford says that if just 5 percent of U.S. vehicles were flex fuel hybrids vehicles (FFHVs), we could eliminate the need to import 140 million barrels of oil per year.

As we know, ethanol emits only a quarter of the carbon emitted by traditional fuels.  That makes these vehicles – and the development of the biofuels industry altogether – that much more attractive from an environmental standpoint.  I believe climate change is real and humans are contributing to the problem, and cleaner, homegrown biofuels offer part of the solution.

And lastly, this is a concept in which an American company is taking the lead.  When we included a tax credit for hybrid vehicles in the 2005 energy bill, we ultimately rewarded foreign manufacturers that were leading the industry.

I am proposing a tax credit for FFHVs that will help develop the market for an American-made concept.  It will reward American ingenuity, and support American jobs.  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure.

In addition, I believe we should reward this type of fuel-saving, environmental research in this country.  That is why I propose a tax credit in which companies can reclaim up to 40 percent of the cost incurred in R&D when bringing these concepts to market.  Both measures can help us achieve the common goals of energy independence and environmental stewardship.