Oil Industry Attacks on Alternative Fuel Costs Just Don't Hold Up
20.05.12
In the latest salvo by the oil industry to weaken California’s low carbon fuel standard, (LCFS) the Western States Petroleum Association released a draft report, authored by an industry consultant, Sierra Research. The report’s exorbitant claims don’t hold up to the estimates in the peer-reviewed literature or any other estimates NRDC is aware of, leaving us simply scratching our heads on this one.
The LCFS, enacted in 2009, requires oil companies to phase in cleaner, alternative fuels to gasoline and diesel over time. Those in the renewable fuels industry, academic community, and government agencies are probably also scratching their heads on where the oil industry came up with its cost numbers.
Below, I show how the oil industry’s estimates stack up against actual estimates from other well-known and peer-reviewed sources such as U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the International Energy Agency, and even the National Academies of Sciences (which has been even criticized for being too high).
Source: Natural Resources Defense Council (blog)