REUTERS SUMMIT-U.S. Gas Station Constraints Complicate 2014 Biofuel Mandate -Officials
by Ayesha Rascoe (Reuters) The Obama administration is trying to balance its support for renewable fuels with awareness of infrastructure constraints at gas stations as it finalizes targets for 2014 biofuel use, agency officials said on Tuesday.
But with only 11 weeks left in the year, the administration also needs to weigh oil refiners’ ability to comply with the long-delayed requirements, one official told the Reuters Global Climate Change Summit.
Refiners on Tuesday wrote to the White House, arguing against raising the proposed requirements for using ethanol and biodiesel in U.S. fuel supplies so close to year-end.
Janet McCabe, head of the Environmental Protection Agency division that oversees the biofuel program, acknowledged that delays in setting the targets, formally called the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), should be taken into account.
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EPA’s proposal to cut 2014 targets roiled biofuel products. The industry has been lobbying for the EPA to change course, arguing that the agency’s proposal would encourage oil refiners to limit the use of renewable fuels simply by not investing in new fuel pumps. READ MORE
