Introduction
The Annual Energy Outlook 2011 (AEO2011) Reference case generally assumes that current laws and regulations affecting the energy sector remain unchanged throughout the projection (including the implication that laws which include sunset dates do, in fact, become ineffective at the time of those sunset dates). Currently, there are many pieces of legislation and regulation that appear to have some probability of being enacted in the not-too-distant future, and some laws include sunset provisions that may be extended…

Updated State air emissions regulations
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a program that includes 10 Northeast States that have agreed to curtail and reverse growth in their carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The RGGI program includes all electricity generating units with a capacity of at least 25 megawatts and requires an allowance for each ton of CO₂ emitted [9]. The first year of mandatory compliance was in 2009…

State renewable energy requirements and goals: Update through 2010
To the extent possible, AEO2011 incorporates the impacts of State laws requiring the addition of renewable generation or capacity by utilities doing business in the States. Currently, 30 States and the District of Columbia have enforceable RPS or similar laws (Table 2). Under such standards, each State determines its own levels of renewable generation, eligible technologies, and noncompliance penalties…

Updates on liquid fuels taxes and tax credits
The handling of Federal highway fuel taxes in AEO2011 is unchanged from AEO2010. Gasoline is taxed at 18.4 cents per gallon, diesel fuel is taxed at 24.4 cents per gallon, and jet fuel for use in commercial aviation is taxed at 4.4 cents per gallon, as specified in the 2005 Transportation Equity Act [26]…

California low carbon fuel standard
California's LCFS will be administered by CARB [32]. In general, the regulated parties under the LCFS legislation are fuel producers or importers who sell motor gasoline or diesel fuel in California. The legislation is designed to reduce the carbon intensity of motor gasoline and diesel fuels sold in California by 10 percent between 2012 and 2020 through the increased sale of alternative lowcarbon fuels…

Representing impacts of the U.S. EPA's interim permit review guidelines for surface coal mining operations
In April 2010, the EPA issued a set of new guidelines to several of its regional offices for monitoring the compliance of surface coal mining operations in Appalachia with the provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA), the National Environmental Policy Act, and the environmental justice Executive Order (E.O. 12898) [36]. The stated purpose of the guidance was to explain more fully the approach that the EPA will be following in permit reviews and to provide additional assurance that its regional offices use clear, consistent, and science-based standards in reviewing the permits…

EPA approval of E15 waiver
In October 2010, the EPA approved a waiver for the use of motor gasoline blends containing up to 15 percent ethanol (E15) in MY 2007 and newer vehicles—an increase over the 10 percent ethanol limit (E10) set in 1978 [38]. In January 2011, the EPA extended the waiver to vehicles manufactured in years 2001-2006 [39]…

Mandates for low-sulfur heating oil in the Northeast
During 2010, Connecticut [40], Maine [41], New Jersey [42], and New York [43] passed legislation to reduce the maximum allowable sulfur content of heating oil sold in their markets. Pennsylvania proposed a similar law, but it was not approved. Connecticut and Maine will begin regulating maximum sulfur content by mid-2011, with Connecticut reducing the maximum to 50 parts per million (ppm) and Maine reducing the maximum to 15 ppm…