The world's best thinkers on energy and climate
By 2040, the UK could see an end to the production of new diesel and gas vehicles. This ambitious new step comes on the heels of continued calls for air pollution reform all across the UK, but particularly within urban areas. It also marks the arguably largest single step the UK government has taken toward securing a greener and fresher future for the nation. However, not everybody is sold on the reforms. … [Read more...]
If the One Planet Summit in Paris on 12 December is to meet its expectations, it must lead to a new cost- and carbon-efficient instrument to support decentralised renewable electricity generation across Africa, writes Terje Osmundsen. … [Read more...]
Diesel’s market share in the EU-15 fell from 50.2% to 46.3% of new car registrations in the first half of 2017, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). In absolute numbers, 152,323 less diesel cars were sold, and ACEA notes this drop was offset by an increase in the sale of gasoline vehicles, not apparently, electric vehicles. … [Read more...]
The UK government is proposing a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, in a move that echoes a recent announcement in France. Setting this sort of media-friendly target is a positive and welcome response to the challenge of air pollution across UK cities, write Richard Brooks and Jason Begley of Coventry University. … [Read more...]
One question that arises from the announcement by the UK government that new diesel and petrol cars will be banned by 2040 is what it means for biofuels. According to Raffaella Ocone of Heriot-Watt University, co-author of a recent UK-government-funded report into the biofuels industry by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the 2040 ban could be viewed as an opportunity for the biofuels sector. … [Read more...]
Because diesel engines are more fuel efficient than gasoline engines, diesel has become a popular automotive alternative, especially in markets where gasoline prices are higher than or equal to diesel prices, most notably in Europe and India. … [Read more...]
Over the past 10 years, increased refining activity and relatively flat demand in the Midwest—Petroleum Administration for Defense District 2 (PADD 2)—have allowed refiners in the region to meet a larger share of regional gasoline and diesel fuel needs. As a result, shipments of gasoline and diesel into the region have declined, while shipments to other regions have increased. … [Read more...]
The theft of refined oil products, such as petrol and diesel, poses significant threats to the global economy and to the stability of states and regions in which it is prevalent, according to a first-ever in-depth study of global downstream oil theft, conducted by Ian M. Ralby for the Atlantic Council. The report shows that refined oil theft is becoming ever more sophisticated and increasingly involves those who are supposed to guard against it. … [Read more...]
MIT engineers have genetically reprogrammed a strain of yeast so that it converts sugars to fats much more efficiently, an advance that could make possible the renewable production of high-energy fuels such as diesel. Chemical engineers program yeast to convert plant sugars into oils. By Anne Trafton | MIT News Office The researchers, led by Gregory Stephanopoulos, the Willard Henry Dow Professor of Chemical … [Read more...]
Proposed fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards would increase fuel economy and reduce diesel consumption in medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Unlike light-duty vehicles, which have been subject to fuel economy standards since the 1970s, the first phase of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle standards was recently implemented, starting with model year 2014. The proposed Phase 2 standards—issued jointly by the U.S. Environmental … [Read more...]
State-level taxes and fees on gasoline in the United States averaged 26.5 cents per gallon (¢/gal) as of January 1, 2016. These taxes and fees ranged from a low of 8.95¢/gal in Alaska to a high of 51.4¢/gal in Pennsylvania, in addition to the federal tax of 18.4¢/gal. State taxes on diesel are slightly higher—averaging 27.4¢/gal, and ranging from 8.95¢/gal in Alaska to 65.1¢/gal in Pennsylvania—and are in addition to the 24.4¢/gal federal tax. … [Read more...]
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel UpdateEIA's weekly survey of diesel prices shows that the U.S. average retail price for on-highway diesel fuel was $1.98 per gallon (gal) on February 15, falling below $2/gal for the first time since February 14, 2005. The U.S. average retail diesel price had last approached, but not gone below, the $2.00 mark in early 2009. Falling diesel prices reflect both decreasing … [Read more...]
The fall in oil prices has created a number of knock-on effects for renewable energy and other emerging clean technologies. Some of these effects are clear cut; for example lower gas prices makes the economic case for electric vehicles more difficult. Other impacts are less clear-cut; for example how potentially lower electric vehicle sales will change the future technology development and price reductions of lithium ion battery … [Read more...]
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