Sudbury experienced an average increase of 3.3 cents per litre in gasoline prices for the week ending Feb. 6, according to the province's weekly gasoline report.

That's in contrast to the provincial average, which despite higher domestic wholesale prices, declined by 1.2 cents from a three-month high to $1.24.2 a litre. Prices fell by 3.9 cents in Ottawa (from a three-month high), 1.4 cents in Toronto (from a three-month high), 1.2 cents in London (from a three-month high), and one cent in Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins.

Prices rose by 4.6 cents in Windsor (to a five-month high), 3.3 cents in Sudbury, 3.2 cents in Thunder Bay (to a three-month high), and 2.7 cents in North Bay.

The Ontario average retail diesel price also declined by 0.7 cents to $1.29.1, a four-week low.

The Canadian average retail gasoline price, after rising six straight weeks, declined by two cents from a three-month high to $1.22.7. Prices fell by 4.9 cents from a three-month high in Vancouver (to a two-month low), 3.3 cents in Montreal, 2.6 cents in Calgary, 2.5 cents in Edmonton, 1.3 cents in Winnipeg, 1.2 cents in Toronto (from a five-month high), and one cent in Regina (to a 12-month low).

Prices rose by 2.2 cents in St. John’s (to a five-month high), 2.0 cents in Saint John (to a five-month high), 1.8 cents in Halifax (to a nine-month high), 1.6 cents in Charlottetown (to a three-month high), and 0.5 cents in Quebec City.

The Canadian average retail diesel price fell for the third straight week, by 0.4 cents to $1.28.2, a four-month low.

Additional information contained in the report:

Conventional biofuels and biomass-based diesel will be available in sufficient volumes to meet federal renewable fuel requirements for 2022, but whether and how the mandate for cellulosic biofuel will be met is uncertain, says a recent U.S. National Research Council report. There are currently no commercial biorefineries for producing cellulosic biofuel, and such capacity will not become available until the production process is improved and technologies are demonstrated at commercial scale in the next few years, says NRC.

Assuming that cellulosic biofuel production capacity reaches 1 billion gallons by 2015, capacity would have to grow by 50 per cent a year over six years (twice the historic growth rate of corn ethanol capacity) to achieve the 16-billion-gallon target by 2022.

In general, biofuels will be cost-competitive with petroleum fuels only in an environment of high oil prices, technology breakthroughs, and high carbon prices. Cellulosic biofuels, in particular, are not competitive with fossil fuels even at oil prices of $111 a barrel. If biofuels are made from annual crops that displace perennial vegetation, the resulting one-time release of greenhouse gases from the biomass and soil could be large enough to cancel the GHG benefits from replacing petroleum fuels over the subsequent years, says NRC (Global Refining & Fuels Today).

Only two to four per cent of consumers worldwide believe that current electric vehicles would meet their performance and purchase price expectations, according to Deloitte. More than 85 per cent of consumers said that range, charging time and convenience to charge, and purchase price are extremely or very important considerations for buying or leasing an EV. Only 63 per cent of Americans would be satisfied with an EV range of 300 miles, despite the fact that 77 per cent say they drive less than 50 miles a day.

Fifty-eight per cent of Americans expect to be able to recharge their vehicle in two hours or less, and 23 per cent expect a 30-minute recharging time. More than 50 per cent of consumers worldwide are unwilling to pay any premium for an EV, and 50 per cent or more of consumers in 11 of the 17 countries surveyed expect to pay $20,000 or less, far below actual costs.

Worldwide, local gasoline prices would have to rise by 28 per cent on average for a majority of consumers to be more willing to purchase or lease an EV. More than 50 per cent of consumers worldwide would lose interest in EVs if vehicle fuel economy rose to 50 miles per gallon. Deloitte says that as consumers gain more experience with EVs, new considerations such as total cost of ownership will emerge (Deloitte, Energy Overviews, Green Car Congress).
 
Posted by Arron Pickard