Federal implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard is continuing to cause legal and battles. The American Petroleum Institute filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia against the Environmental Protection Agency for its decision to mandate the use of 1.28 billion gallons of biodiesel in 2013, a 28% increase from the 2012 requirement. "EPA's overzealous 2013 biodiesel mandate is unworkable, could raise the costs of making diesel fuel, and should be reduced," said Bob Greco, API group downstream director. "In its final rule, EPA admitted the costs of increasing the biodiesel volume requirement for 2013 outweighed the benefits by as much as $425 million."...
Transplace, a provider of transportation-management services and logistics technology, partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay program, PepsiCo, J.B. Hunt, Con-way, Western Express, Smith Transport, and Dart Transit to conduct a survey on return on investment (ROI) fleets are experiencing from implementing fuel-efficiency programs. More than 65 motor carrier fleets provided commentaries for the survey.
The highest ROI has come from highway speed reduction, driver training, and progressive shifting. Recording engine data for greater driver feedback is another initiative being implemented by surveyed carriers. Many carriers are implementing aerodynamic mirrors and verified low rolling-resistance tires.
Of the 65 respondents, 59 are SmartWay-verified carriers....
In Qatar, executives at Sasol, a chemical and synthetic fuels company based in South Africa, and a partner, Qatar’s state-owned oil company, are betting that natural gas, which is abundant in Qatar, will become the dominant global fuel source over the next 50 years, and that oil will become scarcer and more expensive as global demand for transport fuels grows.
Sasol believes so strongly in the promise of this technology that it recently announced plans to spend up to $14 billion to build the first gas-to-liquids plant in the US, in Louisiana, supported by more than $2 billion in state incentives. A shale drilling boom in that region in the last five years has produced a glut of cheap gas, and the executives say Sasol can tap that supply to make diesel and other refined products at competitive prices. It is a very risky proposition....
By Jon LeSage In this day and age of aggressive, ambitious targets for fuel economy increases and greenhouse gas/CO2 reductions in the US, European Union, and elsewhere, it’s not shocking to see skepticism and investigative reporting revved up by Consumer Reports and other sources. Hyundai and Kia are going through the ringer, and now Ford […]