As biofuel producers know very well, ethanol is a highly valued octane booster that can depend on market demand, not mandated consumption, for its competitive edge.
There is a fundamental flaw in the system designed to ensure compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): The assumption that refiners would not blend ethanol into their fuel were it not for the policy and its threat of crippling costs being imposed on obligated parties who do not blend.
Since the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was enacted, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has had the difficult responsibility of implementing a broken and unworkable biofuel blending program.
Much of the focus within the Renewable Fuel Standard is on corn ethanol and the 15-billion-gallon conventional biofuel mandate. But less critically examined in this policy administered by the Environmental Protection Agency is the mandate for advanced biofuels, including biodiesel.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Statement from Chet Thompson, President and CEO of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), in response to the letter sent by 21 senators to Acting Administrator Wheeler of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The biofuel lobby has made a number of claims to muddy the waters around the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and halt progress on better aligning vehicle and transportation fuel policies.
AFPM has joined five other associations to call on the Governors of eight states to reject a recent plea from the Auto Alliance – the leading advocacy group for automakers – to increase subsidies and other incentives for electric vehicles (EVs) and zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), further distorting a market that has failed to materialize despite already receiving generous handouts.
The corn lobby has falsely claimed recently that waivers granted by the EPA to small refiners—relieving them from the onerous costs of complying with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)—have destroyed demand for ethanol. Nothing could be further from the truth.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers’ (AFPM) President and CEO Chet Thompson testified before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on the Environment today on the challenges and opportunities of high octane fuels and high-efficiency vehicles.