Grassley Joins Legislation to Expand Use of Alternative Fuel to Fork Lifts, Other Industrial Vehicles

Press Release

Sen. Chuck Grassley is the lead Republican sponsor of bipartisan legislation to expand the use of hydrogen fuel cells to fork lift trucks and other industrial vehicles.

"The attention given to alternative fuels is usually focused on the consumer market," Grassley said. "Industrial use is another important area for encouraging alternative sources of fuel that are good for the environment and efficient to use. Fork lift trucks are used all over the country, in all kinds of capacities. It makes sense to encourage the use of alternative fuels in warehouses, not just on roads."

Grassley joined Sen. Chuck Schumer in introducing legislation to expand the existing fuel tax credit to include powered industrial trucks. Fork lift truck manufacturers across the United States are interested in the tax incentive to use fuel cell-powered industrial equipment. These manufacturers include The Raymond Corporation, which has manufacturing facilities in Muscatine, Iowa, and New York state and has 1,500 employees, including 170 employees in Muscatine.

Existing and potential customers of fuel cell-powered fork truck lifts include grocery store chains, auto companies, home improvement chains, and many others. The widespread use of the alternative technology in the industrial capacity would reduce dependence on traditional electric vehicles. Also, the manufacture of fuel cells is an emerging industry in the United States, with job creation potential.

As Finance Committee chairman in 2005, Grassley was responsible for the energy tax portion of the Senate's energy bill, much of which became law as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Among many alternative energy tax incentives, the law contained new incentives for the purchase of fuel cells, including the investment tax credit for certain fuel cell vehicles. As written, the alternative motor vehicle credit currently offers a tax credit to fuel cell motor vehicles based on certain weight classifications. The new, pending legislation does two things: (1) expands the definition of "motor vehicle" to include certain commercial and industrial off-highway vehicles, such as fork lift trucks; and (2) eliminates the reduction of the credit for fuel cell motor vehicles weighing less than 8,500 lbs.

Source