EPA Plan to Delay RFS Requirements Pt 2

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December 2, 2021

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(AgInfo/Washington State Farm Bureau Report) I’m Bob Larson. The ethanol industry claims the Biden administration could secure lower gas prices “almost immediately” if it allowed higher blends of corn ethanol, YEAR-ROUND, into the nation’s fuel supply.

All eyes are on the President’s decision to release 50 million barrels of oil, a three-day U.S. supply, from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but Renewable Fuels Association chief Geoff Cooper says there’s a faster, more efficient way to cut gas prices …

COOPER … “If you allow more ethanol into the blend, it’s going to reduce the price, it’s going to extend our supply of domestic fuel, and that’s going to help put downward pressure on pump prices.”

President Biden has asked the Federal Trade Commission to probe gas prices, but Cooper complains Biden is wrong to open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve …

COOPER … “This administration should be relying on its ‘Strategic Biofuels Reserve’ that we have in this country, rather than tapping into the SPR.”

Something Cooper says could be done quickly …

COOPER … “If this administration took the steps to allow the year-round sale of E15, which they could absolutely do, and took other steps to approve the compatibility of underground storage tanks to really reenergize the production of flex-fuel vehicles, we could have an immediate impact on fuel prices.”

Cooper says ethanol’s been about 40 cents a gallon cheaper than gasoline over the last ten years, while the oil industry stepped up its fight against the Renewable Fuel Standard cutting into oil profits.

Year-round E15 use was struck down by the courts and is now on appeal to the Supreme Court. READ MORE; includes AUDIO

EPA plan to Delay RFS Requirements Pt 1 (Washington State Farm Bureau Report; includes AUDIO)

Your Views: Readers discuss ethanol (Daily Nonpareil)

RFS ON THE RADAR: (Politico’s Morning Energy)

U.S. Biofuel Blending Proposals to Come in Days, Sources Say (Reuters/GrainNet)

RFA to EPA: Stop the RFS Delays, Resist Oil Refiner Pressure (Renewable Fuels Association)

Excerpt from Daily Nonpareil: Now that gas prices have hit a seven-year high, I sleep better knowing that Iowa biofuel producers like my employer, Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, are out there helping to soften the blow. Higher ethanol blends in our fuel, like E15, can save drivers anywhere from 5 to 20 cents a gallon at the pump, without the sacrifice to our fuel economy.

Unfortunately, due to an oil industry lawsuit, June 1 of 2022 marks end of E15 unless immediate action is taken. Thankfully our governor, Kim Reynolds, is working on behalf of biofuel producers like SIRE, and all Iowans to ensure that E15 will be available year-round before the June 1 deadline.

Because of the refinery lawsuit, right now E10 (10% ethanol) and E15 (15% ethanol) have different volatility regulations. Unsurprisingly, refiners only provide gasoline through the pipeline that will accommodate E10. They intentionally freeze E15 out of the market, reducing demand for Iowa-made ethanol.

American ethanol plants have billions of gallons of capacity and they are more than ready to meet higher demand should the E15 blend be available year-round and nationwide. While I still hold on to the belief that there is a national solution from Congress or the EPA, there’s no sign that D.C. will fix this problem in time. Governors however have the option under the Clean Air Act to request E10 and E15 be regulated equally in their states. This would require gasoline that is sent through pipelines from refineries to Iowa, to allow for both E10 and E15 year-round blends. Last week Governor Reynolds and six other Midwest governors sent a letter to EPA signaling interest in taking this action.

Governor Reynolds is laying the groundwork to ensure Iowans will not lose access to the highest quality and lowest cost fuel on the market today. She is boldly standing up to oil refiners and leading the way toward a Midwest solution for year-round E15. She knows E15 is too important to Iowa’s drivers and economy to be held back by lawsuits and D.C. inaction. — Justin Schultz, SIRE regulatory manager Council Bluffs READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico’s Morning Energy: RFS ON THE RADAR: The long-awaited biofuel blending targets are slated to come out in the coming days, Pro’s Kelsey Tamborrino reports, possibly dropping early next week or even today. The proposed blending volumes have long been the center of attention across the agriculture and refinery sectors, with both competing for the Biden administration’s ear on whether to raise or lower the standards.

A document leaked in September hinted that the agency planned to reduce blending mandates for 2020 and 2021 below the previously finalized 2020 level. If that holds true, prepare for a bitter fight from ethanol groups and farm-state lawmakers, just as the Senate is wrapped in a smorgasbord of legislative must-dos by year’s end.

Ethanol backers have leaned on the president’s own campaign trail comments as a promise that he’d support the industry, but the administration also needs to keep an eye toward refineries, particularly in the Northeast, that have argued the current RFS has been too costly to keep up with and harms unionized labor.

Keep in mind, EPA is already over a year late in setting 2021 blending volumes and missed this week’s deadline for 2022. The agency will hold a virtual public hearing today on a proposal to extend compliance deadlines for refiners and tie future deadlines to the promulgation of the subsequent year’s standards. Read more on the latest on RFS from Kelsey. READ MORE

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