Bustos Introduces “Bold and Innovative” Legislation to Reduce Vehicle Emissions, Limit Harmful Aromatics and Increase Biofuels Demand

August 26, 2021

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(Office of Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17)) Industry leaders praise bill, Bustos as champion for clean liquid fuels -- U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (IL-17) introduced the Next Generation Fuels Act, legislation that leverages greater fuel octane to reduce carbon emissions from transportation, improve air quality by reducing the use of harmful aromatics and increase demand for biofuels.

Fuels with greater levels of octane are more stable and have the potential to make engines more fuel-efficient. This legislation establishes a minimum octane standard for gasoline and requires sources of the added octane value to reduce carbon emissions by at least 30 percent compared to baseline gasoline. Furthermore, the legislation limits the use of harmful aromatics in meeting this new higher octane standard, as well as in current-market gasoline.

“For the last three and a half years, we have been forced to fight battle after battle and face this Administration’s broken promise after broken promise to ensure our country is meeting the full potential of biofuels,” Congresswoman Bustos said. “The Next Generation Fuels Act looks toward the future to make sure we bring an environmental lens to biofuels production, in order to increase demand while reducing carbon emissions.”

“Congresswoman Bustos has been a real champion for agriculture and the benefits of low carbon ethanol. The Next Generation Fuels Act builds on the success of the Renewable Fuel Standard in advancing corn growers’ commitment to providing the lowest cost, most efficient, and environmentally friendly fuel available,” said National Corn Growers Association President Kevin Ross. “NCGA is thankful for the Congresswoman’s leadership to advance renewable fuels by introducing this legislation and we look forward to working with her to build support for policies that take greater advantage of ethanol’s benefits.”

“There has never been a more urgent need to adopt higher octane, low-carbon ethanol blends in America’s fuel supply, as they are key to achieving clean, healthy air,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “We applaud Congresswoman Bustos for charting a path forward that will unleash clean, affordable ethanol to drive decarbonization in our nation’s transportation fleet and save consumers money at the fuel pump.”

“The Next Generation Fuels Act of 2020 provides a bold and innovative approach to reducing carbon emissions, improving engine efficiency and performance, protecting human health, and removing the arcane regulatory roadblocks that have hindered the expansion of cleaner, greener liquid fuels,” said Geoff Cooper, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association. “By establishing the roadmap for an orderly transition to high-octane, low-carbon fuels, this landmark legislation begins an exciting new era in transportation fuels policy. As the world’s top supplier of clean, affordable, low-carbon octane, the U.S. ethanol industry proudly and enthusiastically supports this legislation. We thank Rep. Bustos for her thoughtful leadership and determined efforts to craft and introduce this bill, and we look forward to working together to make this bold vision a reality.”

BACKGROUND

Due to ethanol’s high octane rating, low-carbon, high-octane ethanol blends results in both additional fuel efficiency and significant greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction benefits. Ethanol is also priced lower than gasoline, making it the most cost-effective octane source.

By requiring the new high octane fuel to utilize low-carbon sources, the Next Generation Fuels Act will decarbonize liquid fuels as vehicle technologies advance. This requirement, coupled with a new limit on harmful aromatics content, ensures that progress already made to lower emissions continues.

Using more petroleum-based sources to increase fuel octane would produce more carbon emissions, erase GHG reduction benefits from improved fuel economy and result in more emissions of harmful hydrocarbon aromatics, which degrade air quality and respiratory health. READ MORE

Next Generation Fuels Act Provides Pathway to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Now (Solutions from the Land)

RFA Welcomes ‘Innovative’ Next Generation Fuels Act (Renewable Fuels Association)

Growth Energy Urges Passage of Bustos, Comer Bill on High-Octane, Low-Carbon Fuels (Growth Energy)

Bustos introduces bill to create high-octane fuel standard (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

New ethanol bill receives mixed reviews (Farm Progress)

ETHANOL LEADER ENCOURAGED BY UPDATED NEXT GENERATION FUELS ACT (Brownfield Ag News)

Rep. Bustos Talks Next Gen Fuels at #FPS21 (Energy.AgWired.com; includes AUDIO)

Ethanol Report (Energy.AgWired.com; includes AUDIO)

Call For Hearing to Highlight How Next Generation Fuels Act Would Remove Market Barriers and Could Reward Efficient Ethanol Producers (GrainNet)

BUSTOS HANDLES NEXT GENERATION FUELS ACT WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY (Brownfield Ag News)

KANSAS CORN PRESSING BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ON CAMPAIGN PROMISES FOR ETHANOL (Brownfield Ag News)

Are renewables making the US less energy independent? (Farm and Dairy)

Excerpt from Solutions from the Land: The Next Generations Fuels Act is legislation introduced this week by Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL), who was joined in sponsoring the measure by fellow Democratic Reps. Emmanuel Cleaver (MO) and Cynthia Axne (IA), and Republican Reps. Jason Smith (MO), James Comer (KY) and Darin LaHood (IL). The lawmakers say the bill represents a new frontier in the quest to mitigate climate change.

The legislators also say the measure will improve liquid transportation fuel quality and incentivize vehicle technologies that simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel economy. The bill represents what supporters say is the first step in the legislative and regulatory process to transition our nation’s gasoline supply to higher octane fuel. It will not only reduce climate-altering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but also improve air quality and public health by replacing harmful carcinogenic compounds with cleaner renewable fuels.

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Higher-octane fuels allow engine manufacturers to design more powerful and fuel-efficient engines.

Blending in cleaner-burning ethanol to boost a fuel’s octane rating is far superior to using aromatics like benzene, toluene ethylbenzene and xylene, known as the BTEX complex –that come from the petroleum refinery process and are both expensive and toxic.

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By increasing the octane rating of the nation’s fuel, automakers will be able to use advanced engine design features that increase engine performance and significantly improve vehicle fuel efficiency – from 5 to 7 percent.

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Current fuel standards limit the use of the advanced engine technologies available to improve efficiency, leaving automakers few options to meet higher fuel economy standards.

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Recent work by Steffen Mueller, principal economist at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Energy Resources Center, shows that like electric vehicles (EVs), ethanol-gasoline blends provide substantial greenhouse gas reductions relative to gasoline-only vehicles. In fact, he says, high-octane fuel vehicles with ethanol provide very similar GHG savings compared to EVs for many states. Importantly, E85 and high-octane plug-in hybrids represent the lowest GHG-emitting technology as these vehicles are both able to take advantage of the low carbon intensity of ethanol in their combustion engine and the low carbon intensity of the electricity grid in hybrid mode of operation. Ethanol at high blend levels can provide immediate GHG benefits while EV adoption within the U.S. fleet increases.

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These are solutions that can immediately boost our environment and our public health, all while taking on our changing climate. READ MORE

Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine: The bill, H.R. 5089, includes many provisions of benefit to higher blends of ethanol, including those that address regulatory impediments that have slowed the commercialization of high-octane, low-carbon fuels and the vehicles that consume them. For example, the bill includes provisions that would set a limit on aromatics in gasoline another, ensure that all ethanol blends receive the same Reid vapor pressure (RVP) treatment as E10, and require future vehicles and future retail stations are compatible with higher blends of ethanol.

The legislation aims to establish certification test fuels of 95 research octane number (RON) and 98 RON containing 20-30 percent ethanol. It would also require automobile manufacturers to design and warrant their vehicles for the use of these fuels beginning with model year (MY) 2026. READ MORE

Excerpt from Farm Progress: The Next Generation Fuels Act contains a new “low carbon” octane standard which requires high octane fuel to be produced from sources with average lifecycle GHG emissions at least 40% cleaner than gasoline. Because every ethanol facility has its own unique carbon intensity, the legislation’s use of “average” to determine the lifecycle GHG emissions of ethanol shortchanges many producers.

“Under this legislation, ethanol from a coal-fired ADM facility, whose fuel is nearly as carbon-intensive as gasoline, would get the same access to the market as the most efficient farmer-owned ethanol facility, whose carbon footprint is at least 50% cleaner than gasoline, and in most cases 60 to 70% cleaner,” Jennings (Brian Jennings, CEO for the American Coalition for Ethanol) explained. “In other words, the bill as currently drafted would perversely reward ADM for doing nothing to reduce the CI of the fuel produced in its coal-fired facilities and penalize companies like Poet, KAAPA, Little Sioux Corn Processors, Ringneck Energy and dozens like them that have invested in technology innovations to reduce the CI of their fuel.”

“If this legislation were improved to allow individual CI scores for ethanol producers and give credit to farmers for practices that reduce emissions from fertilizer use and sequester carbon in the soil, not only would ACE enthusiastically support it, but it would be taken more seriously in Congress,” Jennings says. READ MORE

Excerpt from Energy.AgWired.com: The Renewable Fuels Association had a very visible presence at the 2021 Farm Progress Show, held August 31-September 2 in Decatur, Illinois. RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White said it was a great opportunity to see and talk with farmers, but it also proved to be a time to meet with members of Congress who are working to help the industry deal with some recent challenges.

In this Ethanol Report podcast, we hear from RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper, Reps. Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Mike Bost (R-IL), Darin LaHood (R-IL) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) with a special emphasis on the Next Generation Fuels Act introduced recently in the U.S. House by Rep. Bustos. READ MORE; includes AUDIO

Excerpt from GrainNet: Following the recent introduction by U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL 17th) of the Next Generation Fuels Act (H.R. 5089), the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) on Wednesday (Sept. 1) called for a legislative hearing on the bill.

The purpose is to receive testimony on how it would remove market barriers to ethanol and improvements that should be made to the legislation to reward farmers for climate-smart practices and ethanol producers for investments to reduce the carbon intensity of their fuel.

In a letter to House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr., ACE CEO Brian Jennings outlined that ACE is aligned with bill supporters about how it would overcome a host of ethanol market barriers, but that the organization prefers to see improvements in the “low-carbon octane” provision of the legislation.

“ACE strongly supports the fact that H.R. 5089 would remove many ethanol market barriers and requires the latest GREET model for lifecycle assessment but believes lifecycle analysis should be conducted at the facility level and specifically include GHG reductions made in the production of biofuel crops to ensure federal policies incent further reductions in carbon intensity and reward companies taking these steps,” according to the letter from Jennings.

The legislation would establish a low-carbon octane standard which requires high octane fuel to be produced from sources with average lifecycle GHG emissions at least 40% cleaner than gasoline.

ACE members believe the use of an average lifecycle GHG emissions threshold would penalize many ethanol companies that have made investments to reduce the carbon intensity of their fuel and remove the incentive for facilities to make further GHG reductions.

“While a handful of ethanol facilities who currently do not meet a 40% carbon intensity reduction compared to gasoline may not agree with ACE on the need for a facility-specific approach to lifecycle analysis, we all support advancing the other provisions of H.R. 5089 to remove ethanol market barriers,” Jennings said.

“ACE also believes it is important for the ethanol industry to demonstrate a genuine commitment to be part of the climate solution.

"Our call for a legislative hearing on the Next Generation Fuels Act is an attempt to facilitate these important discussions in Congress.”

To see a copy of the letter, click here. READ MORE