New Tax Bill Extends Support for Natural Gas Fuel for Transportation, Encourages Critical NGV Deployment in US, According to Clean Energy

SEAL BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The new Tax Bill passed by the US Senate and House of Representatives and expected to be signed into law by President Obama today provides solid support for the critical movement to deploy large numbers of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in the United States, according to Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq: CLNE). The Bill extends the 50 cents per gallon excise tax credit retroactively for calendar year 2010 and through December 31, 2011. It also extends tax credit incentives for developing natural gas fueling infrastructure.

NGVs, particularly heavy-duty vehicles for waste hauling, transit and trucking, are seen increasingly as a means to reduce dependence on foreign oil, as well as to help clean the environment.

"This backing by Congress is critical for our nation to succeed in its goal of creating a new alternate energy economy not dependent on imported petroleum," said Andrew J. Littlefair, Clean Energy President and CEO. "Transportation accounts for over 60% of petroleum use in the US and over 60% of petroleum is currently imported."

Littlefair added, "Although the number of NGVs in the US now is low, numbering about 150,000, worldwide vehicle deployment is growing rapidly with more than 12 million NGVs in use. In the US, several major manufacturers have introduced natural gas-fueled trucks over the past two years. The waste hauling industry is moving quickly to convert fleets to natural gas fuel and about 25% of the nation's transit fleet relies on natural gas. On the consumer front, Fiat, Europe's largest maker of NGVs, recently announced it plans to bring those quality vehicles to the US for sale through its Chrysler dealer network."

Costing less than diesel or gasoline, natural gas fuel produces up to 30% lower greenhouse gas emissions in light-duty vehicles, and up to 23% lower greenhouse gas emissions in medium- to heavy-duty applications. Department of Energy reports estimate that 98% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S. is sourced in the U.S. and Canada.

About Clean Energy Fuels -- Clean Energy (Nasdaq: CLNE) is the largest provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America and a global leader in the expanding natural gas vehicle market. It has operations in CNG and LNG vehicle fueling, construction and operation of CNG and LNG fueling stations, biomethane production, vehicle conversion and compressor technology.

Clean Energy fuels over 19,900 vehicles at 211 strategic locations across the United States and Canada with a broad customer base in the refuse, transit, trucking, shuttle, taxi, airport and municipal fleet markets. It owns (70%) and operates a landfill gas facility in Dallas, Texas, that produces renewable methane gas, or biomethane, for delivery in the nation's gas pipeline network. It owns and operates LNG production plants in Willis, Texas and Boron, Calif. with combined capacity of 260,000 LNG gallons per day and that are designed to expand to 340,000 LNG gallons per day as demand increases. Northstar, a wholly owned subsidiary, is the recognized leader in LNG/LCNG (liquefied to compressed natural gas) fueling system technologies and station construction and operations. BAF Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, is a leading provider of natural gas vehicle systems and conversions for taxis, limousines, vans, pick-up trucks and shuttle buses. IMW Industries, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary based in Canada, is a leading supplier of compressed natural gas equipment for vehicle fueling and industrial applications with more than 1,000 installations in 24 countries. www.cleanenergyfuels.com

Forward Looking Statements -- This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including statements about the growth in the U.S. natural gas fuel market, the future receipt of the excise tax credit and the number of natural gas vehicles in the U.S. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of lack of availability or performance of natural gas vehicles, legislative changes and the inherent uncertainty of the political process. The forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date of this press release and the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

    Source: Clean Energy Fuels Corp.

Released December 17, 2010