Diesel fuel the 'only' cost-effective substitute for gasoline for reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, U.S. Dept. of Transportation study finds

Diesel Fuel News, Nov 24, 2003

Diesel Fuel The 'Only' Cost-Effective Substitute For Gasoline For Reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions, U.S. Dept. of Transportation Study Finds: The DOT study, "Fuel Options for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Motor Vehicles," (http://climate.volpe.dot.gov/papers.html) concludes that "only petroleum diesel appears likely to be cost-effective by comparison to other strategies for reducing GHG emissions," although it's still uncertain if clean-diesels will achieve EPA Tier2/Bin 5 criteria emissions.

In contrast, bio-diesel ("B20" 20% blend), corn-based ethanol and electricity are far more expensive and hence less cost-effective than diesel, the study shows. Diesel is also far more energy efficient than compressed natural gas (CNG), LP-gas or hydrogen for replacing gasoline, the study shows. On a cost per ton of GHG emissions avoided, diesel is half the cost of biodiesel, one-sixth that of CNG, one-twelfth that of ethanol and one-eighth that of LP-gas.