House passes $ 33-B energy and water bill; boosts H2 transpo

To improve fuel efficiency through clean fuel, the US House of Representatives recently approved a $33-billion energy and water bill that also includes $373 million in advanced vehicle funding, $40 million of which will be for a fund for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and hydrogen transportation systems.

The Obama administration had cut down funds for hydrogen research and changed the classification for ultra-efficient vehicles to include those that get 75 miles per gallon on diesel or traditional hybrid-vehicle.

With the new classification, the bill would direct the Energy Department to go over last year’s rejected applications using the new $25-billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program. The first $8 billion were approved by the Energy department last month, $5.9 billion of which went to the Ford Motor Co.

A similar bill by Rep. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Hills) includes an increase to $550 billion for the Energy Department’s vehicle research programs for 2010.

It is Peters hope that the decrease in automobile costs will lead to the retail of cutting-edge vehicles.

- Sunshine T. Santiago