January 25, 2012
In 2011, I had the priviledge to act as external on Alphanso Williams’ Masters thesis defense. It was an outstanding effort by a very talented young academic. Alphanso’s enthusiasm has served him well as he tackles policy issues around energy. In this article entitled “Wishful Thinking in Energy Policy:Biofuels in the US and EU” in Energy Politics 2011 (developed out of Williams’ Masters research), Alphanso and Dr. Bill Kerr contrast and compare US and EU energy policies.
Excerpts:
“It would appear that in both the European Union and the United States, the shortfalls in meeting the mandates are likely to be significant. For those contemplating investments in the energy sector, both where biofuel mandates have been put in place and around the world, this creates considerable uncertainty.”
“…the restrictions on technology and land use could be removed allowing more agricultural land to be diverted to production of biodiesel and corn-based ethanol. This would likely re-ignite the food-versus-fuel debate…”
In short…
“None of these options is politically palatable. There is no obvious policy choice.”
Congratulations, again, to Alphanso on his successful defense. His work points out some of the problems with existing energy policies. This article will represent a first in many, I am sure
!
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