The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week regarding the proposed rule on Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards. Kelly Davis, RFA Director of Regulatory Affairs, says they support the timely implementation of the Tier 3 standards especially the proposal to establish E15 as the certification test fuel beginning in 2017. …
Ethanol Report on Independence and the RFS
As we celebrate our nation’s independence this week, we’re coming up on about five years now since the RFS was strengthened in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. So we thought it was good time to look back and see just what that policy has done to help with that goal which has really been at the root …
Open Fuel Standard Introduced in House
Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) this week introduced the Open Fuel Standard Act (H.R. 2493) in the House, legislation which would require 30 percent of new automobiles in 2016, 50 percent in 2017, and 50 percent in each subsequent year, to operate on non-petroleum fuels in addition to or instead of petroleum-based fuels. “This could include …
EPA: Biodiesel, Ethanol Numbers Up
The latest numbers from the EPA say biodiesel and ethanol production is up. For May, biodiesel production hit 135 million gallons, putting it on target to hit more than a billion gallons this year and to exceed annual volume requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Weekly ethanol production averaged 885,000 barrels per day or 37.17 million gallons daily, up …
House Subcommittee Hearing on RFS Today
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power is holding a hearing today in Washington on “Overview of the Renewable Fuel Standard: Government Perspectives.” The hearing features testimony from the Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency. The hearing was scheduled to begin on 1:30 eastern time but has now been postponed until …
API Denied Hearing on E15
The Supreme Court has issued a decision to not hear the American Petroleum Institute (API) and other ethanol opponents’ challenges to E15, a blend of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline, that has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in cars and light duty trucks manufactured in 2001 or newer. “Today is a true …
Senator Barrasso: Repeal the RFS
Today U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) introduced “The Renewable Fuel Standard Repeal Act” (S. 1195). The bill would repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in its entirety. “The Renewable Fuel Standard is fundamentally broken and beyond repair,” said Senator Barrasso. “Instead of delivering meaningful environmental benefits, it’s driven up food and fuel costs …
Ethanol Industry Bites Back at Restaurant RFS Attack
The National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR) today announced a new campaign focused on repealing the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and the ethanol industry is biting back. Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen says the restaurants just want to fatten profits while denying that it is energy that supersizes food costs. “Here’s a hot, heaping serving of …
Rally Without a Cause
As the sun shines on Capitol Hill this week, motorcycles are rolling in to to participate in the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) “E15 Fuel for Thought Lobby Day” sponsored by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers Associations (AFPM). While ethanol industry representatives has shown frustration, Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) couldn’t help but chuckle. …
A New Twist to an Old Story
The ethanol industry is no stranger to controversy. As Bob Dinneen, CEO and president of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) pointed out during a recent panel discussion on policy issues at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW), the industry has been in a battle for decades. In a recent conversation I had with Dinneen, he noted that a lot of issues …