WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate may soon be voting on legislation (S. 987) that aims to drive down gasoline demand by boosting the fuel economy of cars and trucks and increasing the use of nonpetroleum fuels like ethanol, said Reuters.
The Senate Energy Committee on Wednesday was expected to send to the full chamber a bill that targets gasoline demandthe biggest chunk of U.S. petroleum use. It also seeks to lower greenhouse gas emissions spewed into the atmosphere.
Under the proposal, the U.S. Department of Energy would have to [image-nocss] come up with a plan to reduce gasoline consumption by 20% by 2017, 35% by 2025 and 45% by 2030. To help cut fuel use, the legislation would also authorize the Energy Department to issue loan guarantees for fuel-efficient vehicle manufacturers and related parts suppliers.
And, with an eye toward weaning America off foreign oil, the legislation would increase the amount of ethanol and other renewable fuels used in motor vehicles annually to 8.5 billion gallons in 2008, steadily boosting it to 36 billion gallons by 2022.
The bill also would authorize $315 million over three years to research how to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions linked to global warming that are spewed by power plants, oil refineries and other industrial facilities.
If the legislation is accepted by the full Senate, it still must be approved by the House and signed by President Bush before it could become law.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) said in a statement, API supports a realistic and workable renewable fuels standard. Our industry is the nation's largest user of ethanol and is increasing the volume of renewable fuels in America's transportation fuel portfolio.
But it added, The renewable biofuels mandate contained in this bill for advanced biofuels is not economically achievable with current technologies. API regrets that the bill does not include a safety valve. Appropriate adjustments may be needed to ensure that energy companies and consumers are not penalized due to the economic and technical hurdles that might prevent reaching alternative or biofuels usage targets or goals.
The gasoline reduction goals in this legislation are even more stringent than the renewable biofuels mandate. Moreover, these goals are in fact mandates which, in effect, give a blank check' to the executive branch to develop regulatory approaches to implement the goals. API does not support giving the regulatory agencies such wide ranging latitude to implement policies that could have dramatic impacts on our way of life.
It concluded, API looks forward to working with the Senate to improve the legislation approved today. Looking ahead, we need to develop all economically viable energy sources including fossil and renewable fuel sources. By relying, to the greatest extent possible, on market forces, understanding consumer impact and preferences, encouraging development of new technologies, and addressing secondary impacts of expanded renewable fuel usage, our industry and the nation will meet the energy challenges in the years ahead.
In other energy news, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Environment & Public Works Committee (EPW) and Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Clean Air & Nuclear Safety, has sent EPW chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) a letter urging her to exercise the EPW Committee's oversight of the EPA's renewable fuels program.
The letter also asks Chairman Boxer to convene a legislative business meeting to consider related legislation as soon as possible. "As you know, [EPW] has exclusive jurisdiction over the existing Renewable Fuels Program and primary jurisdiction over biofuels legislation in general," Inhofe and Voinovich wrote. "Further, the committee has a strong history of considering fuels legislation, whether related to water quality issues or more recently concerning the relationship between air quality and energy security, in a bipartisan manner. We hope that tradition continues under your leadership."
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