Hence the need for Congress to require that new vehicles allow the use of alternative fuels.
"The increased use of alternative fuels very much depends on the price of gasoline," said Dan W. Reicher, assistant secretary of energy for efficiency and renewable energy.
The Senate approved the legislation as part of a tax bill promoting the use of alternative fuels, including wind and solar power.
We must not only encourage the use of alternative fuels and increase energy efficiency, but we must also boost our own domestic supplies.
However, the main objective in those instances is to combat pollution and congestion, rather than compensate for the use of alternative fuels.
He is about halfway to a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and would like to pursue a career exploring the use of alternative fuels in motorsports.
Weighing on demand next year would be lower growth figures in some countries, improved energy efficiency and an expected increase in the use of alternative fuels.
A provision passed by the Senate but not the House would require the increased use of alternative fuels like ethanol and liquids produced from wood or municipal waste, with a goal of 36 billion gallons of such biofuels by 2022.
The Senate version includes requirements for utilities to use more alternative sources of energy as well as greater subsidies and tax breaks to encourage use of alternative fuels, renewable resources, and energy-efficient cars and appliances.
For now, the best hope for biodiesel lies with government agencies, who have to comply with the Energy Policy Act of 1992, which mandates the use of alternative fuel in certain fleets of official cars and trucks.
For the city, the involvement in Project Driveway is one step in its long use of alternative fuel, which dates to the 1978 gasoline shortage, when the federal government promoted the use of gasohol, a combination of gasoline and ethanol, Mr. Nicoletti said.
