WASHINGTON, June 27 (UPI) -- U.S. consumers are warming to alternative fuel sources in higher numbers as frustration with the oil industry grows, a renewable energy advocate says.
The U.S. Energy Department this week reported average retail gasoline prices for the summer were moving toward an expected seasonal average of $3.53 per gallon. The weekly average price of $3.57 per gallon is 14 cents higher than the same time last year.
An online survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted in early June for renewable energy advocacy group Fuels America found 75 percent of the respondents wanted more renewable fuel options at refueling stations. It found support for renewable fuel and renewable fuel standards crossed political lines.
Most of the respondents taking part in the survey said they blamed the oil industry for high gasoline prices.
An RFS program outlined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calls for a steady increase in the amount of renewable fuels blended into transportation fuel through 2022.
The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil industry, said Wednesday it wants the RFS standards repealed. API argues increases in oil production in the United States make the standard moot because it was enacted as a buffer against disruptions in overseas energy markets.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of renewable energy this week in a debate over biofuel mandates.
The Fuels America survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
