by Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer) After renewable biofuels appeared to be effectively shut out of President Joe Biden’s plan for infrastructure, leaders in the ethanol industry and their advocates on Capitol Hill are trying to make the case that biofuels can accelerate moves to a low-carbon economy.
In a briefing Friday to congressional staff and journalists, staff from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) laid out an aggressive policy agenda that first began with requiring the EPA to reestablish its focus on the Renewable Fuels Standard by rejecting refiner exemption requests; restore 500 million gallons of biofuel use from 2016; finalize blend volumes for both 2021 and 2022; and ensure biofuel blend volumes continue to grow after 2022. At the same time, RFA is calling for the adoption of a national low-carbon fuels standard (LCFS) that would require a reduction in average carbon intensity on an annual basis across the transportation sector.
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Getty Images Court looks at EPA’s interpretation of Clean Air Act holding E15 to the same gasoline volatility standards as E10.
On Tuesday, the D.C. Circuit Court heard oral arguments in
American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, et al. vs. EPA, a case in which oil refiners challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2019 rulemaking that paved the way for the year-round sale of E15.
Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association, and the National Corn Growers Association defended the rule and also argued in support of upholding the rule allowing the 1-psi Reid Vapor Pressure waiver that currently applies to E10 during the summer months. Under the finalized expansion in May 2019, E15 was allowed to be sold year-round without additional RVP control rather than just eight months of the year.
Biofuel supporters defend E15 use in circuit court farmprogress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from farmprogress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tuesday, 06 April 2021 U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Thune (R-SD) reintroduced the
Adopt GREET Act, legislation that would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update its greenhouse gas modeling for ethanol and biodiesel. Specifically, the bill would require EPA to adopt the Argonne National Lab’s Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) Model for both fuels. EPA would then be required to update its modeling every five years or report to Congress to affirm its modeling is current or otherwise explain why no updates were made.
“It is critical that the EPA’s decade-old greenhouse gas modeling for ethanol and biodiesel be updated to fully reflect the newest science and technology,” said Klobuchar. “This legislation will allow us to fully understand how biofuels can help contribute to our emissions reduction goals while expanding and promoting the use of clean energy and rural jobs across the countr