New fuels have huge potential to reduce petrol use
New vehicle fuels and related technologies offer the greatest potential for large reductions in petrol use and the United States economy's dependence on petroleum, a White House report says.The transportation sector alone accounts for two-thirds of the...
New vehicle fuels and related technologies offer the greatest potential for large reductions in petrol use and the United States economy's dependence on petroleum, a White House report says.
The transportation sector alone accounts for two-thirds of the oil consumed in the US because only a small fraction of vehicles now are powered by more energy-efficient alternative fuels, according to the 2007 Economic Report of the President.
However, private sector investment, combined with government policies, is expected to increase the reliance of the transportation sector on renewable and alternative fuels, such as biofuels and hydrogen, flex-fuel, hybrid and other advanced technology vehicles, the report, sent to Congress on February 12, said.
Annual sales of such vehicles are projected to triple in 2012; by 2030, they are expected to make up more than 25 per cent of all light-duty vehicles sold in the US, according to the Energy Department.
Ethanol, the only biofuel currently used any significant quantities in the US market, is added to petrol to increase its octane content and to help it burn more completely, thus reducing emissions of carbon monoxide and other pollutants.
Many states require petrol sold at fuel stations to contain between two and 10 per cent ethanol. Under the law passed by Congress in 2005, petrol producers are obliged to increase gradual use of ethanol and other alternative fuels from 15 billion litres per year in 2006 to 28.4 billion litres per year in 2012.
President George W. Bush recently proposed to go beyond this goal and require 132.5 billion litres of alternative and renewable fuels by 2017 as part of his plan to reduce petrol use by 20 per cent over 10 years from what the Department of Energy has projected would be consumed if no further action were taken.
Another element of the plan is the reform of the federal fuel economy standards.
The Democratic chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, Jeff Bingaman, questioned the feasibility of the fuel component of the President's plan. During hearings on February 7, he said that, based on experts' opinions, US producers are unlikely to exceed 95 billion litres by the specified date.
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, who testified before the committee, defended the President's plan. He told senators that it also encompasses renewable and alternative fuels other than ethanol such as buthanol and biodiesel. Based on his conversations with industry representatives, he said, the president's goal is achievable.
Under the congressional renewable fuel standard and the president's plan, fuel imports also would contribute to achieving respective goals, according to the report. Major foreign producers of ethanol, such as Brazil, are looking forward to 2009 when US tariffs on ethanol exports will expire unless Congress decides to renew them.
The Bush administration 'desires for this (ethanol) industry in the United States to be able to stand on its own feet and not need the protection of tariff,' Under Secretary of Energy Clay Sell said on February 1.
But whether the administration will support the expiration of the current tariffs will depend on how US ethanol business is 'maturing,' he said at an industry forum.
The feasibility of the alternative fuel initiative, as well as its environmental benefits, will depend, to a large degree, on technological progress and the composition of the alternative fuel portfolio, particularly on the sources of ethanol, according to experts.
Most US ethanol is derived from maize through a process that is relatively costly and whose energy and environmental benefits are relatively small. Converting more maize into ethanol also is likely to drive up the prices of the commodity.
Experts view cellulosic ethanol derived from switch grass, farm waste and other cellulosic materials as much more promising because it has higher energy value and greater potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
However, cellulosic ethanol, like other advanced vehicle technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells, is not a "proven commercial technology at this point", according to David Greene of the engineering science and technology division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
That is why in his budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins on October 1, the President called for a 22 per cent increase over the 2006 budget request in annual funding for alternative energy research.
Since 2001, the federal government has spent close to $10 billion on such research, according to the report. The full text of the Economic Report of the President is available on the White House Website - www.whitehouse.gov/cea/pubs.html
The transportation sector alone accounts for two-thirds of the oil consumed in the US because only a small fraction of vehicles now are powered by more energy-efficient alternative fuels, according to the 2007 Economic Report of the President.
However, private sector investment, combined with government policies, is expected to increase the reliance of the transportation sector on renewable and alternative fuels, such as biofuels and hydrogen, flex-fuel, hybrid and other advanced technology vehicles, the report, sent to Congress on February 12, said.
Annual sales of such vehicles are projected to triple in 2012; by 2030, they are expected to make up more than 25 per cent of all light-duty vehicles sold in the US, according to the Energy Department.
Ethanol, the only biofuel currently used any significant quantities in the US market, is added to petrol to increase its octane content and to help it burn more completely, thus reducing emissions of carbon monoxide and other pollutants.
Many states require petrol sold at fuel stations to contain between two and 10 per cent ethanol. Under the law passed by Congress in 2005, petrol producers are obliged to increase gradual use of ethanol and other alternative fuels from 15 billion litres per year in 2006 to 28.4 billion litres per year in 2012.
President George W. Bush recently proposed to go beyond this goal and require 132.5 billion litres of alternative and renewable fuels by 2017 as part of his plan to reduce petrol use by 20 per cent over 10 years from what the Department of Energy has projected would be consumed if no further action were taken.
Another element of the plan is the reform of the federal fuel economy standards.
The Democratic chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, Jeff Bingaman, questioned the feasibility of the fuel component of the President's plan. During hearings on February 7, he said that, based on experts' opinions, US producers are unlikely to exceed 95 billion litres by the specified date.
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, who testified before the committee, defended the President's plan. He told senators that it also encompasses renewable and alternative fuels other than ethanol such as buthanol and biodiesel. Based on his conversations with industry representatives, he said, the president's goal is achievable.
Under the congressional renewable fuel standard and the president's plan, fuel imports also would contribute to achieving respective goals, according to the report. Major foreign producers of ethanol, such as Brazil, are looking forward to 2009 when US tariffs on ethanol exports will expire unless Congress decides to renew them.
The Bush administration 'desires for this (ethanol) industry in the United States to be able to stand on its own feet and not need the protection of tariff,' Under Secretary of Energy Clay Sell said on February 1.
But whether the administration will support the expiration of the current tariffs will depend on how US ethanol business is 'maturing,' he said at an industry forum.
The feasibility of the alternative fuel initiative, as well as its environmental benefits, will depend, to a large degree, on technological progress and the composition of the alternative fuel portfolio, particularly on the sources of ethanol, according to experts.
Most US ethanol is derived from maize through a process that is relatively costly and whose energy and environmental benefits are relatively small. Converting more maize into ethanol also is likely to drive up the prices of the commodity.
Experts view cellulosic ethanol derived from switch grass, farm waste and other cellulosic materials as much more promising because it has higher energy value and greater potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
However, cellulosic ethanol, like other advanced vehicle technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells, is not a "proven commercial technology at this point", according to David Greene of the engineering science and technology division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
That is why in his budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins on October 1, the President called for a 22 per cent increase over the 2006 budget request in annual funding for alternative energy research.
Since 2001, the federal government has spent close to $10 billion on such research, according to the report. The full text of the Economic Report of the President is available on the White House Website - www.whitehouse.gov/cea/pubs.html