EPA proposes reduced renewable fuel standard for 2014

Photo: greentechmedia.com

Under the 2005 Energy Policy Act, congress established a Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that required 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel (mostly ethanol) to be blended into gasoline by 2012. The RFS was amended in 2007 and increased the renewable fuel standard to 9 billion gallons in 2008 and all the way up to 36 billion gallons by 2022.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set the annual standards for the RFS program each year. The EPAs recent proposal cuts the 2014 RFS from 16.5 billions gallons to 15.2 billion gallons. The lions share of this fuel, corn-based ethanol, would fall from 13.8 billion gallons in 2013 to 13 billion gallons in 2014.

Ethanol, RFS, and the ‘Blend Wall

Since its inception, the RFS was intended to spur investment in clean biofuels – those made from renewable crop sources that provide clean energy while improving water quality, air quality, climate and habitat.

However, these renewable fuel sources never materialized. Instead, the RFS has spurred a massive expansion of corn and soybean production that has increased greenhouse gas emissions, eliminated critical habitat, driven up food prices, and exacerbated pollution of our surface waters. Since it was expanded in 2007, the corn ethanol mandate has led to more than 23 million acres of US wetlands and grasslands lost to the plow - an area the size of Indiana.

Worse still, these higher fuel requirements set the stage for the so-called blend wall.

Decreased net demand for fuel and increased requirements for ethanol consumption mean that the renewable fuel standard can only be met by mixing more and more ethanol into gasoline – beyond the 10% maximum allowed in most automobiles.

While some agribusiness groups have called for ethanol blends ranging from 15% (E15) to 85% (E85), consumer demand for such products is low and many manufactures warn against using such blends in their vehicles (which may void the warranty and damage critical engine parts). Thus, the fuel industry cant meet the RFS without either reducing the renewable fuel standard or exceeding the 10% blend wall.

Next Steps

The EPA officially proposed the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard on November 2013. The rule is open for a 60-day public comment, after which the EPA will make its final determination.

For more information on the proposed RFS, visit EPA.gov.