Study Finds U.S. Energy Independence Not Possible Without Adoption of Replacement Fuels

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 4, 2014) - The Fuel Freedom Foundation (FFF), today announced the findings of a study conducted by Eyal Aronoff. The study reveals that without mass adoption of natural gas and biomass as feedstock for transportation fuels to replace oil, the U.S. and its economy will be dependent on foreign oil. Even with the projected increased growth of domestic oil production, the total cost of oil imports will continue to top $300 billion a year. Under these circumstances it will not be possible for the U.S. to achieve oil independence in the next 20 years.

Fuel Freedom Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that is working to reduce the cost of driving existing cars and trucks by opening the transportation fuels market to cheaper fuel choices at the pump. Achieving fuel freedom will mean accelerated economic growth, greater energy security, reduced air pollution, lower greenhouse gas emissions and improved health.

The study investigates whether energy independence in the United States is possible, in terms of quadrillion British Thermal Units (QBTU) and/or balance of payment in dollars. The study uses data from the U.S. government-based Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2013 Annual Energy Outlook Report, to compare the United States' energy consumption and production on both a BTU basis alone and a dollar per BTU basis. The conclusion of the study suggests that energy independence for the United States in terms of dollars will not be possible by 2020, or even 2035 if current trends continue. 

The study found that for all years, across QBTU and dollars per British Thermal Units (BTU) energy balances, total petroleum products consistently posted negative balances. In addition, total petroleum products consistently composed the largest negative portion of the total energy balance for both types of energy independence.

"In order to become energy independent, we need to reduce our oil consumption by half. We can do that by replacing transportation fuels made from oil with those using natural gas as a feedstock, like methanol and ethanol," said Eyal Aronoff, co-founder of FFF, and the author of the study. "The abundance of low cost feedstocks for competitive fuels will drive down the price of fuel, and will deflate the power of the oil price setters, allowing the US to be truly energy independent."

The full report can be downloaded free of charge at www.fuelfreedom.org.

About Fuel Freedom: Fuel Freedom Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to breaking our oil addiction by enabling the transportation fuels market to open so our cars and trucks can run on cheaper, cleaner, healthier American replacement fuels. The Fuel Freedom campaign aims to remove barriers to competition so that natural gas, methanol, ethanol and electricity can compete on equal footing with gasoline at the pump, and at the dealership. Achieving Fuel Freedom will lower fuel prices, create jobs, spur economic growth, reduce pollution, and improve national and global security. For more information visit us at www.fuelfreedom.org.