Posted April 17, 2014
Petroleum groups are concerned that the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency will change its proposed renewable fuel
standard released late last year for the amount of ethanol and other biofuels
refiners must blend into the nation’s fuel supply, according to an article by
The Hill available here.
In November of last year, the EPA
released its proposed 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), reducing the proposed
volume to 15.21 billion gallons. In
2013, the RFS was set at 16.55 billion gallons.
President of the American Fuel and Petrochemical
Manufacturers (AFPM), Charles Drevna, said that the agency could flip on the
proposal. “Recently Gina McCarthy has
been remarking that the volumetric requirements for the finalized [Renewable
Fuel Standard] may be different than the proposed rule,” said Drevna.
Drevna said the EPA is thinking about increasing the
volumes because the Energy Department estimates there will be an increase in
gasoline demand in the next year.
The AFPM, and the oil industry want the proposal to
stay as written, but opponents want “to see the renewable fuel mandate repealed
all together.”
Iowa Governor, Terry Branstad, is optimistic that the
EPA will change the proposed RFS, according to an article by the Waterloo Courier
available here.
Gov. Branstad met with McCarthy and testified at a hearing
on the recommended changes, saying that the proposed RFS would be detrimental
to the ethanol industry in Iowa and across the Midwest.
Based on meetings and feedback from others, he believes
the EPA “realizes they were basing their recommendation on outdated and
inaccurate information.”
For more information on a recent case involving the
RFS, a recent post from this blog is available here. For more information on renewable energy,
please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
