'Open Fuel Standard' Proponents Want More Flexible FFVs

"What a ludicrous example of an indecisive government creating a disabler," Hofmeister said of the Keystone XL saga.

The federal government's overtures to regulate hydraulic fracturing constitute another disabler to exploiting domestic conventional resources because individual states already oversee the practice, Hofmeister added.

"State requirements aren't good enough, I guess," he wryly observed. "Why the duplication? Why the overreach? Why the redundancy?"

Hofmeister also cited the government's one-year annual renewal of the investment tax credit on wind energy projects as a disabler to the development of renewables. He said the tax credit would yield better results under a longer effective time frame.

"People can't make clear decisions on a 12-month cycle on a project that's going to last 30 years," he explained.

"I think there's enough private investment capital in this country and enough entrepreneurial facilities" to entice investors to spend money on developing alternative fuels as long as incentives are in place that consider the maturity of the technology, Hofmeister continued. "The government should create enablers."

In regard to fuel flexibility, Hofmeister believes that policymakers should create investment enablers that target specific energy sources and allow sufficient time for each to become a viable option for consumers. Energy policy should be based on the near-, mid- and long-term prospects for each individual fuel, he said.