WSJ: Energy Bills 1 Step Forward, 1 Step Back

By IAN TALLEY AND BETH HEINSOHN
November 12, 2007; Page R14

In its efforts to set the U.S. on the road toward energy independence, Congress may be constructing a detour.

The House and Senate have passed separate energy bills and are now working on combining the two into final legislation that could come up for a vote by the end of the year.

Both bills are designed to lessen American reliance on foreign oil, in part by mandating far greater use of corn-based ethanol and so-called cellulosic ethanol, which is made from biomass like grasses and wood chips. The Senate bill also calls for higher fuel-economy standards.

Here's the catch: Anything that creates uncertainty about demand for gasoline over the long term means less incentive for refiners in the U.S. to expand their capacity. And that means greater reliance on gasoline imports in the near term, at least until ethanol becomes a mainstream fuel. And that, of course, is the opposite of energy independence.

Wall Street Journal, Nov. 12, 2007