Electric cars have been a part of the U.S. car market since the early 1990s, but nearly two decades later few are found cruising the streets of Pittsburgh. And while the automotive industry accounts for between 4 and 5 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, according to selectusa.commerce.gov, electric vehicles make up only a small portion of that market.
Pennsylvania environmental officials are offering $10 million worth of incentives to companies, government agencies and nonprofits for the purchase of cars or light trucks that run on natural gas or to convert lighter-weight vehicles that now use gasoline.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection launched the program in a bid to generate demand for natural gas vehicles. A drilling boom in Pennsylvania and other states in recent years has produced enormous quantities of cheap gas.
