Petroleum " shocks " are n’t anything new . Although the hypothesis ofpeak fossil oil consumptionhas been a popular subject of discussion recently , the first worldwide scares over the availability of oil occur in 1973 . TheOrganization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC)raised oil prices – and subsequentlygas prices– when it burn back on oil supply to countries that supported Israel during the Yom Kippur War . This oil crisis , along with a subsequent muscularity crisis in 1979 , lead some people to opine aboutdieselas an alternate togasoline .
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As tensions between OPEC and import countries lessened , gasoline price eventually stabilized and the requirement for diesel - powered vehicles decreased . ( They remain popular in Europe , since the European Union go forward to set strict emanation standard . ) Still , the events were a mite that we might have needed to get by from our oil dependence .
More than 30 year later , recent spike in gas prices have driver crucify at the pump . We all need a way to get around , but the modified availability of public transportation system likesubwaysin the United States leaves us few selection . On top of this , concerns overglobal warmingand the shock petroleum has on the environment have many apprehensive about the hereafter of the Earth . Some are now looking intoalternative fuelsand alternative fuel vehicles ( AFVs ) as solutions to oil dependency . Although definitions can vary , alternative fuels are anything other than the two schematic , crude oil - establish fuel , gas and diesel motor . They includeethanol , biodiesel , propane , natural gas and electricity ( energy frombatteriesorfuel cell ) , among others . Several of these fuels offer well efficiency and burn more cleanly than throttle , so they might be more desirable to someone who want to save both money and the environment .
But just as crude - based product are subject to pricing , so are alternative fuels . And , as reference of energy , both kinds of fuel compete with each other . But how are the prices of fuels like fermentation alcohol and biodiesel set , anyway ? Is it any different from the way gaseous state Mary Leontyne Price are set ? And for someone thinking about switching to an AFV , would it be less expensive in the long run if you ’re pay for something other than gasoline ? To con about alternative fuel price and how they liken to gas prices , read on .
Ethanol Prices
ethyl alcohol , one of the most babble out about substitute fuel , is derived from renewable source , in the main corn . Essentially , it ’s the same as grainalcoholand can be used as vigour in many cars . Some see ethanol as a good direction for the United States to minify its addiction on foreign oil , since it ’s a domestic product that come right from crop in the Midwest .
Vehicles rarely use 100 percentage ethanol as a fuel – instead , a certain percentage of fermentation alcohol can immix withgasolinefor a cleaner - burning fuel . For example , you’re able to findE10 , a mixture of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent unleaded gasoline , in 46 percent of America ’s gasoline , and it will work in any vehicle . E85 , on the other hand , is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent unleaded gas – it only work unbending fuel vehicles ( FFVs ) , although the auto industry is bring forth more and more of these kinds of cars each year .
Predicting the damage of ethanol is cunning and unpredictable , since the gasolene industry blends it with gas itself , and need for the fuel has conk out up and down despite a steadily increase supply . really , you’re able to think of the price of something like E85 as a slightly lowergas price , because that ’s just what adding ethanol to gasoline does – it simply lowers the terms of the gaseous state with which it ’s combine . The October 2007Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Reportnoted the national middling cost of E85 as $ 2.40 , while the average for flatulency was $ 2.76 .
Still , the legal age of the price of grain alcohol more or less depends on the price of corn . Since oil affects the price offood(high prices increase the costs of distribution ) , recent spikes in oil prices should have push clavus prices up – but they have n’t yet , and ethanol blends have managed to stay a fleck lower than gun . Congress also taxes grain alcohol at a lower rate so it can contend with gas . The United States General Accounting Office states that " motor fuel consisting of at least 10 percent biomass - descend ethyl alcohol are exempt from 5.4 cent of the 18.4 - cents - per - congius federal excise tax " [ source : GAO ] .
And just like veritable gas , the cost of ethanol blends will vary depending on the region . Prices in the upper Midwest are generally abject , because the ethanol does n’t have that far to jaunt . Prices in the Rocky Mountain realm are a bit higher , on the other hand , because it costs more to send the grain alcohol out there .
What about biodiesel ? To memorise more about biodiesel cost , read the next page .
Biodiesel Prices
The other major biofuel , biodiesel , is used , of course of action , indiesel engine . Like ethanol , it ’s derived from renewable sources – in biodiesel ’s case , vegetable oils or fats – but , unlike fermentation alcohol , it can fire in diesel engine whether it ’s a portmanteau word or pure biodiesel ( B100 ) . Many people are surprised to learn that Rudolf Diesel , the artificer of the Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel engine , originally think of vegetable seed oil as the engine ’s independent fuel .
Raw material and transportation system decide most of the Mary Leontyne Price for biodiesel . The most common factor used to make biodiesel are soybean fossil oil and yellow grease , the latter of which amount from soy crude oil , canola oil and the other oil used for cooking french fries and other fried foods . Fast foodrestaurants recycle and reuse these crude oil as much as they can , but after a while it does n’t service a cookery purpose . Biodiesel producers can then buy the used yellow grease and commute it into biodiesel . Acquiring and processing the soybean oil and yellow soil accounts for as much as 80 pct of the price . Biodiesel also get a $ 1 per congius price reduction on Union excise revenue enhancement , which lowers the overall price for consumer .
The Mary Leontyne Price of biodiesel at last count on the blend . B20 , for case , cost about $ 3.08 in October 2007 , three penny lower than unconstipated Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel ’s $ 3.11 norm at the meter . B100 , on the other manus , cost higher at an average of $ 3.38 , due to the increase amount of production that goes into making pure biodiesel .
Many company that use vehicles with diesel engines are switching to biodiesel because of the potential to write money . new diesel locomotive engine seldom have to be modified to apply biodiesel , and it does n’t cost much to retrofit older 1 . In Oregon , for example , expression companies that use diesel engine engine and alter them with retrofit devices for improved performance are eligible for as much as 50 percent in revenue enhancement credits [ source : Oregon Environmental Council ] . With good fuel efficiency and clean emissions , biodiesel looks to help many businesses using diesel engines , but it could affect more than just big truck on the highway . The production and profit voltage for biodiesel , concord to the University of Wisconsin ’s Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment ( SAGE ) , is huge , and the section suggests in a paper that body politic could produce as many as 51 billion liters a year .
To learn more about propane , instinctive gas and electricity , read the next page .
Propane, Natural Gas and Electricity
You probably knowpropanefrom barbecues – it ’s the fuel in that petty white piston chamber attach to the side of thegrill . Although propane is n’t think an alternate fuel for heating system household or broil function , it ’s the most popular alternate togasolineand diesel . It ’s unique in that it ’s not produced or neat like biofuels . Instead , it ’s a byproduct of natural flatulence processing andoil refining . Propane and butane ( the same fuel used for lighter fluid ) are collect during production so as to keep these liquids from condense and causing processing difficulties .
But even though it comes from the same spot as petrol , it still has to vie with it . Many affair can dissemble the price of propane , but the main factors include the monetary value of crude oil , the prices of other vie fuel , the balance of provision and need , the distance propane must travel to customers and the time of year . Because need for propane is much mellow during the wintertime due to increased warming purpose , toll will be higher during these months . This causes prices to hover above and below gasoline – while propane may be cheap than gas in the summertime time when supplies are high , need in winter will raise costs abovegas prices . In October 2007 , propane was $ 2.75 , one cent inexpensive than gas .
Natural gasis one of the three fossil fuel – the other two are oil colour and coal . It ’s mostly comprise of methane , or one carbon speck and four hydrogen atoms . It ’s drawn up from clandestine wellspring just like crude , processed to remove byproduct , and then stored by the gaseous state party . This unconscious process affects about 75 percent of the price , while statistical distribution cost regulate the other 25 percentage . Again , taxes and part may make prices to vary , but natural gun is one of the cheapest and cleanest - cut alternative fuels – in October 2007 , the national average was only $ 1.77 , almost a dollar less than gasoline.
Electricityprices forelectric carsare the easiest prices to determine – it ’s just about the same you yield for electrical energy to power the lightsome bulbs in your menage . Although price vary by realm , time of year and even the clip of solar day you shoot an electric car’sbattery , the national average for electrical energy in the United States is about 7.5 penny per kilowatt - hour ( kWh ) . An electric vehicle with an efficiency of 3 miles per kWh will be about 3 cent a mile , while a gas - poweredenginethat gets 18 international nautical mile per gallon will expend about 14 cents per miles when flatulency prices are $ 2.50 .
For lots more information on car , energy and related subject , see the next pageboy .
