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Report: Repeal or “Reform” of the Renewable Fuel Standard Would Doom Advanced Biofuels
Posted 2 April 2015 in
After years of innovation and investment, the cellulosic biofuels industry is now deploying the lowest carbon, most innovative fuel in the world at commercial scale. A new report from Third Way details the promise and progress of this growing sector, and warns that attempts to repeal or “reform” the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) could stifle innovation and threaten a potentially transformative industry.
Since its passage, the Renewable Fuel Standard has encouraged billions of dollars in R&D as well as additional investments into cellulosic biofuels, the next generation of clean, renewable fuel.
The widespread production of cellulosic biofuels, made from fibrous, non-edible plant material, would allow the U.S. to lower its greenhouse gas emissions, reduce its reliance on oil, and create new opportunities for growth in the agriculture and technology sectors.
While the federal government has aggressively encouraged the development of cellulosic biofuels for the past decade, this emerging sector has recently reached the cusp of success.
Key to this progress has been the existing corn ethanol industry. As the report notes, the corn ethanol industry has helped overcome the technological and economic challenges that have stifled many cellulosic projects. Efforts to alter the eligibility of corn-based biofuels for meeting the requirements of the RFS would be damaging to the emerging advanced biofuels sector. The report notes that:
“While proposals to gut only the corn section of the RFS may not be intended to endanger the development of cellulosic ethanol, this is exactly what would occur. Given the nuances of current fuel markets and how they interact with the RFS, these proposals will discourage cellulosic ethanol investment by companies with a large stake in corn ethanol — the very companies that are helping to commercialize this long-sought fuel.”
The Third Way report offers yet another example of how the RFS is a key part of building an energy policy that encourages innovation, creates jobs, and enhances our national security.
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Report: Repeal or “Reform” of the Renewable Fuel Standard Would Doom Advanced Biofuels
