White House noting clean-diesel energy opportunity

Diesel Fuel News, March 3, 2003 by Jack Peckham

The White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB)--a regulatory oversight agency--now urges the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to take a closer look at diesel and hybrid-electric impact on future vehicle energy demand.

The OMB letter asks EIA to re-evaluate assumptions about diesel and hybrid vehicle penetration as used in EIA's "National Energy Modeling System" (NEMS), which forecasts energy supply/demand in future decades.

* Diesel, Hybrid Growth Seen

"Current EIA forecasts indicate that hybrid-electric and diesel vehicles will have limited penetration in the passenger vehicle market over the next 20 years," the OMB letter says. "This stands in contrast to views expressed by some industry observers, including those within the industry and environmental advocacy groups."

Technology evolution seems to be improving the performance and reducing the costs of advanced vehicles, the letter says.

However, "the NEMS model generally assumes that vehicle manufacturers will use only 'conventional technologies' to comply with Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, yet hybrid-electric and diesel technologies are not considered as 'conventional technologies' within the model.

"We believe, however, that manufacturers are actively pursuing hybrid-electric and diesel vehicles as part of their strategies to respond to the growing regulatory demands for fuel economy improvement, though significant penetration prior to 2008 is unlikely.

"In addition, we note that various consumer tax credits may be considered in the future to promote advanced diesel engines as well as hybrids," the letter concludes.

Asked for comment on the OMB letter, Diesel Technology Forum executive director Allen Schaeffer says that "it shows that the White House is paying attention to the enormous energy saving prospects of more light-duty diesel use in the U.S.--by signaling to the EIA that their forecasting models are out-of-step with where the technology is and is headed, and those models need to be re-evaluated, along with consideration of consumer tax credits."