Press

Media releases

Inslee unveils plan to boost next generation hybrid cars

23 January 2007

On the one-year anniversary of a campaign to promote cars that run primarily on electricity and have a gas-tank backup, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) unveiled legislation that would give a boost to so-called plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV’s).

At a celebration of the National Plug-In Partners Campaign on Capitol Hill, Inslee announced his Get Real Incentives to Drive (GRID) Plug-in Act, H.R. 589.

It’s the first bill filed in the House or Senate that deals solely with PHEV’s, which operate off an electric charge for short trips and then recharges its battery during long trips with gasoline or environmentally friendly biofuel.

The bill establishes a five-year, $500 million grant program for PHEV makers; a pilot project to identify the best way to integrate the vehicles into the power grid; a government test site to advance of battery technologies; a tax incentive for consumers who buy PHEV’s; and, a 10 percent purchasing requirement for the federal government’s fleet of vehicles.

The event, hosted by the Austin Energy and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), highlighted progress made in the last year on the campaign for PHEV’s and federal legislative efforts on the issue.  According to EESI, 500 entities, including the city of Seattle, have joined the National Plug-In Partners Campaign.

Click here to read the Get Real Incentives to Drive (GRID) Plug-in Act.