New Campaign Launched to Push for Advanced Fuels and Consumer Choice at the Gas Pump
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — More than 20 worldwide leaders in the effort to commercialize next-generation transportation fuels announced today a new campaign to bring consumer choice to gas stations across America. The campaign – called FuelChoiceNow – will ask lawmakers to take every reasonable step to open U.S. fuel markets to alternative fuels.
“The only way to free the American consumer from the vicious cycle of world oil price spikes is to give them a choice at the pump,” said Matt Horton, CEO of Propel, a national leader in the effort to put alternative fuel pumps in the ground, “there are alternatives, but we need to unleash them.”
Of particular concern to FuelChoiceNow supporters, comprised of advanced fuel companies and cleantech investors, is the lagging U.S. position in the global race to produce clean energy.
“If we do not take every reasonable step to enact forward-thinking, enduring policies that open the marketplace for these fuels, China, India or Brazil surely will,” said John McCarthy Jr., President and CEO of Qteros. “We’re already witnessing these and other countries beat us to the punch by enacting consistent energy policies, investing in infrastructure, and recognizing the value in the creation of renewable energy economies.”
The coalition says that advanced fuel companies are developing commercial-ready alternatives to oil, but are inhibited by unnecessary vehicle and refueling constraints that choke demand and inhibit change in the marketplace. The coalition points to ethanol and natural gas as evidence of a marketplace that does not reward price-competitiveness and innovation. Both domestically-produced fuels are cheaper than gasoline, but have limited market access.
“Americans are paying almost $4 per gallon for gasoline while we export cheaper fuels to other countries,” said Brooke Coleman, who will coordinate the campaign, while noting that vehicles could be made to run on any blend of gasoline, ethanol or methanol for less than $100 per vehicle.
FuelChoiceNow sees the effort as encompassing a wide range of fuels, including biofuels, natural gas, and electricity, but is asking Congress to focus on the marketplace instead of the fuels. “We need to shift the public discourse away from ethanol versus electricity versus natural gas and toward creating open markets that reward innovation,” added Coleman, “that’s the key to unleashing American ingenuity.”
The coalition will release a set of policy priorities through their website www.FuelChoiceNow.com.
SOURCE FuelChoiceNow
