Below are some alternative fuel related articles found this week.
Tax Credit, Court Ruling Put Biodiesel Industry on Solid Ground for 2011
On Tuesday, a federal appeals court unanimously rejected an attempt by the oil refining industry to block the EPA’s renewable fuel standard (RFS2), which mandates blending of biodiesel into US diesel supplies. On Friday, the compromise tax and unemployment benefit bill, which included a renewal of the biodiesel producer tax credit, was signed into law by president Obama. After months of hardship brought on by policy uncertainties, the biodiesel industry can adopt on optimistic outlook on 2011. Read more about this article by Josh Garrett on HeatingOil.com.
Powering truck fleets with fried chicken
New Leaf Biofuel, based in Barrio Logan, collects used cooking oil from nearly 1,000 local restaurants and converts it to biodiesel. It sells that to distributors who market the fuel to customers running fleets of diesel trucks, including the Allied Waste fleet of trash and recycling trucks in Chula Vista and C&D Towing in Barrio Logan. Allied Waste has been using biodiesel since 1993. This article features comments and discussions by New Leaf Biofuel CEO Jennifer Case, who recently joined the Board of Directors of the San Diego Clean Fuels Coalition. Read more about this article by Peggy Peattie on signonsandiego.com.
Gasoline Demand Defies “Experts” and Drops
Defying all the “experts,” gasoline demand in the U.S. has dropped 8% since 2006 when demand peaked. Prevailing wisdom has held since the OPEC oil shocks of the mid-1970s that that supplies would not keep pace with demand, eventually leading to the end of the oil supply. Quoted by Independent presidential candidate Rep. John B. Anderson (I-Ill.) Sept. 23, 1980, while debating former President Ronald Reagan, the American Petroleum Institute predicted that world oil demand would exceed available supply by 1990. Today’s U.S. Energy Dept. report indicates that, with the new breed of fuel-efficient and alternative-fuel vehicles, gasoline demand should drop by another 20% by 2030, leaving the world awash in gasoline. Despite increased consumption by the rest of the industrialized and developing worlds, gasoline demand should continue to drop in those countries too. Read more about this article by John M. Curtis on examiner.com.
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