The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed increasing the amount of ethanol and other biofuels that must be blended into the nation’s fuel supplies over the next three years.
While the move was welcomed by renewable fuel and farm groups, it was condemned by environmentalists and oil industry groups.
The EPA proposes to set the total target for all kinds of renewable fuels at 20.82 billion gallons for 2023, including 15 billion gallons from corn ethanol. The target would grow to 22.68 billion gallons for 2025, including 15.25 billion gallons of corn ethanol. The plan also calls for growth in cellulosic biofuels — which are made from fibrous plant materials — biomass-based diesel and other advanced biofuels.
EPA Administrator, Michael Regan said in a statement that the proposal supports low-carbon renewable fuels and seeks public input on ways to strengthen the program, adding that with the proposal, EPA seeks to provide consumers with more options while diversifying our nation’s energy mix.
Among other things, the proposal also includes new incentives to encourage the use of biogas from farms and landfills and renewable biomass such as wood, to generate electricity to charge an electric vehicle and it is the first time the EPA has set biofuel targets on its own instead of using numbers from Congress.
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The goal of the existing Renewable Fuel Standard is to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change, expand the country’s fuel supply, strengthen energy security and reduce fuel prices for consumers as ethanol is a key part of the economy in many Midwest states, consuming about 40% of the nation’s corn supply.
Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, told reporters on a conference call that the EPA’s plan creates a “clear pathway for sustainable growth for our industry when it comes to the production and use of low-carbon fuels like ethanol” as it said would also bolster the industry’s push for year-round sales of gasoline with a 15% ethanol blend, as well as sales of the 85% ethanol blend E85.
However, environmentalists argue that it’s a net ecological and climate detriment because growing all that corn fosters unsustainable farming practices, while the oil industry says ethanol mandates constrain free market forces and limit consumer choice, and that higher blends can damage older vehicles.
“This is a toxic plan directly at odds with the Biden Administration’s commitment to Environmental Justice,” Sarah Lutz, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said in a statement. “Charging electric vehicles with forests and factory farms should be a non-starter.”
Story was adapted from AP.
