However it still falls short of the goals of the Renewable Fuel Standard. The oil industry opposed any increase. Until that happens, the Petroleum Institute says the renewable fuels standard should be set at no higher than 9.7 percent of gasoline demand. By displacing fossil fuels, biofuels help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help strengthen energy security.
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“The Renewable Fuel Standards program is a success story that has driven biofuel production and use in the”.
The EPA is required to set annual RFS volume requirements for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and renewable fuel under the Clean Air Act. “If we were reaching the scales projected [by Congress] you’d get a lot more efficiency”, said Paul Winters, communications director for trade group Biotechnology Innovation Organization, which is based in Washington D.C. The majority of cars on the road today are approved to use E15. “The administration is potentially putting the safety of American consumers, their vehicles and our economy at risk”. The conventional biofuel amount of 14.8 billion gallons is an increase from 14.5 billion gallons in 2016.
In response, prices jumped for biofuels credits companies use to prove they have met the requirements.
Biofuel producer shares also moved higher Wednesday.
Shares in ethanol producer Green Plains rallied on news, then pared gains after Federal Reserve minutes raised expectations for a US interest rate hike in June. Pacific Ethanol, a company with plants along the West Coast and in the Midwest, climbed 6.1 percent to $4.37. Americans will consume a record 143 billion gallons of gasoline this year, according to a May 10 forecast from Energy Information Administration.
The EPA is expected to issue a final rule by year-end, following a public comment period. But under a court order last year, the EPA rolled out three years’ worth of biofuel targets, and agency officials stress that they are back on schedule. The proposed increases would boost renewable fuel production and provide for ambitious yet achievable growth.
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Total renewable fuel volumes would grow by almost 700 million gal. between 2016 and 2017, EPA said.
