8/6/2019 OFS Economic Impact Factsheet

1/1

The Open Fuel Standard Act (OFS), led in the House by Reps. Shimkus (R-IL), Engel (D-NY), Bartlett (R-MD), and

Israel (D-NY), is a technology neutral bill that would ensure most new vehicles sold in the U.S. enable fuel

competition starting in 2014.

The Open Fuel Standard Act is a comprehensive, all-of-the-above energy strategy that does not play

favorites and select a winner, but instead lets competition decide which energy sources will best meet

our countrys needs for affordable and sustainable transportation.

One fuel that would be a part of this solution is methanol, a clean-burning liquid fuel made from

natural gas, coal and biomass that requires very little modifications to infrastructure to deploy. With a

small modification to vehicles which costs about $100 each, drivers would be able to save every day at

the pump.

To demonstrate the potential economic impact of alternative energy strategies of this legislation as awhole, here are some examples of the impact of replacing all of our current gasoline consumption with

M-85, a blend of 85% methanol and 15% regular unleaded..

At todays prices, M-85 would sell for $1.83 at the pump with all taxes, distribution and mark up

included. With less energy content than gasoline, an equivalent price would be $3.19 a gallon. If every

consumer filled up every day with this fuel, consumers would save an estimated $164 billion every

year, and each household would save annually an average of $1000.

If all of our gasoline was replaced with M-85, we would no longer be required to utilize foreign sources

of oil to make gasoline. Each year, we spend over $500 billion buying oil from overseas. Oil importsmake nearly half of our trade deficit. Replacing all of our gasoline with M-85 would reduce our trade

deficit by as much as $265 billion, reinvesting that money in our own economy.

Construction and deployment of the estimated 350 methanol production plants that would be needed

to produce all of our fuel domestically would result in $150 - $170 billion in short term investment

creating an estimated 12,000 permanent, high paying jobs at the facilities and an additional 180,000

indirect jobs in communities around the country.

Each year more than a thousand lives are lost in hundreds of thousands of gasoline fires on our

roadways. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that because of methanols low volatilityand inherent fire safety advantages, a switch to methanol as our primary automotive fuel would save

720 lives, prevent 3,900 serious injuries and prevent up to $215 million in property damage, every

year.

Methanol is just one facet of this innovative legislation, and the Open Fuel Standard Act will allow fuels

to compete based on each fuels safety, environmental, security and cost benefits.

FACTSHEET

ECONOMIC IMPACTOFTHE OPENFUEL STANDARDACT