Biofuels to Boost Clean Fuel Standard to Biden

2020 Election, Federal Agency, Federal Legislation, Federal Regulation, Opinions, Policy, Sustainability, White House

November 23, 2020

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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy) Some of the largest biofuels companies plan to ask Biden to impose a nationwide standard to reduce carbon emissions from transport fuels, Reuters reports, citing five sources familiar with the matter. The push reflects the industry’s “increasing concern about the future as Biden prepares measures to slash emissions that could upend traditional energy markets, and as the federal regulation that has underpinned growth in the biofuel market for more than a decade — the Renewable Fuel Standard — nears expiry in its current form,” Reuters reports. READ MORE

Exclusive: Plotting future, U.S. biofuel industry seeks federal clean fuel program from Biden (Reuters)

MINNESOTA FARM BUREAU AND FARMERS UNION LEADERS SEE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BIOFUELS UNDER BIDEN (Brownfield Ag News; includes AUDIO)

A New Alliance for Farming’s Climate Impact (Our Daily Planet)

Excerpt from Reuters: Officials from biofuel companies and trade groups like POET LLC, Pacific Ethanol, and the Renewable Fuels Association teamed up with representatives from the agriculture, autos, and electricity industries to draft a letter to Biden urging a nationwide “clean fuel standard,” the sources said.

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Such a rule would require reductions in the amount of greenhouse gas emissions emitted through the production, transport and combustion of fuels, but would allow for flexibility for how those goals are achieved – including through the purchase of carbon credits generated by companies like electrical vehicle producers.

“A federal clean fuels policy is crucial to provide a durable price signal for clean fuels deployment, including electricity, hydrogen, biofuels, and others, across the country,” the letter, seen by Reuters, said. The group planned to send the letter soon, the sources said.

California already has a Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and the head of the state’s environmental body overseeing the program, Mary Nichols, is on Biden’s short list to run the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“There is growing consensus among the biofuel community that there is a lot of promise for ethanol and other renewable fuels in a national LCFS (Low Carbon Fuel Standard) program that is truly tech- and fuel-neutral,” one source familiar with the industry’s deliberations said.

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While the RFS has created a multibillion-gallon annual market for ethanol and other biofuels, the regulation will reset in 2022. At that point, the authority to set new annual volume targets moves to the discretion of the EPA, raising uncertainty over future demand for biofuels.

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The working group has discussed whether a national low-carbon fuel program would be applied on top of the RFS after 2022, or would simply replace it, though no consensus has been reached, according to the sources. READ MORE

Excerpt from Brownfield Ag News: Leaders with Farm Bureau and Farmers Union see opportunities for biofuels growth under a Biden Administration. Minnesota Farm Bureau president Kevin Paap says he expects a definite shift toward climate-based policy with Joe Biden as President.

“More things with climate change, greenhouse gases, global warming, however you want to define it. And quite frankly, that’s a good place for biofuels.”

He tells Brownfield renewable fuels like ethanol can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. READ MORE includes AUDIO

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