The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute had a central role in the formation of the Alliance for a Safe Alternative Fuels Environment, a coalition of consumer and user groups and manufacturing associations. AllSAFE’s mission is to assure that all new bio-based fuels such as ethanol and other renewable energy sources are promoted in a safe and constructive manner.
|
|
“AllSAFE is working to improve our understanding of the unknown impacts and potential unintended consequences of ethanol and other renewable fuels on all stakeholders – consumers, manufacturers, gasoline retailers – as well as the environment,” says Bill Guerry, AllSAFE’s spokesperson.
AllSAFE is working this week to assure the amendments to the energy bills being discussed in Congress that would mandate increased ethanol blends do not create adverse effects on consumers and their products and vehicles, on retailers of fuels, on manufacturers of products and vehicles, or on the environment.
“We support the use of ethanol and other renewable fuels, but their incorporation into the national fuel supply needs to be thoroughly understood. Safety concerns or product failures could lead to consumer rejection of all renewable fuels,” Guerry warns. “Legislation needs to be reasoned, not reactive.”
The efforts of AllSAFE and OPEI have also won support from some environmental groups. Clean Air Watch states that, while the organization has had its differences with some of the groups involved with AllSAFE, “the alliance has released a white paper that raises questions that ought to be answered before Congress or the EPA charges ahead with plans to change the type of fuel used not only in cars but other engines.”
“At a minimum, the Clean Air Act should be clarified to note that the US EPA should make an affirmative determination of no environmental harm before permitting changes to fuels,” says Frank O’Donnell of Clean Air Watch.
OPEI also pointed to this recent report which was issued by Ron Sahu, Ph.D., an expert in the fields of environmental, mechanical, and chemical engineering. This report identified significant technical concerns of mid-level ethanol blends (fuels with over 10 percent ethanol) on engines, vehicles, boats, and equipment.
“The technical challenges and data gaps strongly indicate the need for significant additional study,” Sahu says. “Mid-level ethanol blends can cause increases in combustion heat release and the potential corrosion and degradation of products and their fuel and emission control systems that are not specifically designed for these higher levels of ethanol.”
AllSAFE represents over a dozen consumer and user groups and manufacturer associations to promote the safe advancement of biofuels as renewable energy sources. Other members of AllSAFE are: Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, American Motorcyclist Association, Association of Marina Industries, Boat Owners Association of the United States, Engine Manufacturers Association, International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, Motorcycle Industry Council, National Association of Convenience Stores, National Marine Manufacturers Association, Personal Watercraft Industry Association, and Specialty Vehicle Institute of America.
OPEI (www.opei.org) represents a large percentage of the more than 300 million affected products as the international trade association for outdoor power equipment and engine manufacturers and the component and service suppliers to the industry.
