Would tumbling oil prices affect the RnD funding, for alternate fuels?
The answer, as John said, is a resounding YES. As he mentioned, if the alternative energy source is not cost-competitive with fossil fuels, there is no reason for a financial investor to put up money. There will be those investors that believe oil and gas prices will rebound quickly, and are going to continue investing in R&D for that reason. But at least some of them have been scared by the rapid and pronounced drop in oil & gas prices. It has been suggested that a government imposed “gas floor” would be a way around this. Under this plan, the government would set a minimum price for oil or gas, and if the market price goes under that, the difference would be charged as a tax. That tax would be spent on funding these very R&D projects. That way, the tax would fund the research, or the high prices of oil would provide incentive for spending money on this research. Of course, government regulation of prices is always a touchy subject.
