Page 10 - NorthAmOil Week 34 2021

NorthAmOil POLICY NorthAmOil

EPA to propose lower

biofuel mandate levels

US THE US Environmental Protection Agency mandates might be lower. Renewable fuel (D6)
(EPA) is expected to propose to President Joe credits traded at $1.42 August 20, down from
Biden’s that America’s biofuel blending mandates $1.50 in the previous session, Reuters reported.
should be lowered to below this year’s levels, two A few days earlier, credits were trading above
sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. $1.60, said the news wire.
Such a move would be a blow to the biofuel The US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)
industry, based in the US Midwest where maize requires oil refiners to blend biofuel into gaso- The Biden
is grown, already rocked by Biden’s recent goal line and diesel, or buy RINs. Refiners can get an
that half of all new vehicles sold in the US by exemption if they successfully argue that they administration’s
2030 should be electric in order to meet decar- would be damaged financially if they are forced
bonisation goals. The biofuel industry says to blend or buy credits. The RFS was adopted in energy and
that biofuels are ready now to produce cheap 2005.
low-emissions fuel. In July, several US Senators from farming climate agenda
EPA’s mandate would be a minefield. US bio- states such as Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska wrote lacks meaningful
fuel mandates are politically tricky for any pres- to Biden requesting a meeting with him and rep-
ident, pitting powerful oil refiners – who must resentatives of his cabinet to discuss the RFS and consideration of
blend biofuel into their gasoline – with the agri- promote biofuels as what they said is a key solu-
culture industry, which also has political clout. tion for America’s energy and climate agenda. biofuels.
At issue is that biofuel production has dipped The Biden administration’s energy and cli-
during the pandemic, and the EPA is looking to mate agenda lacks meaningful consideration of
take that into account, said Reuters. biofuels, which contribute significantly to emis-
Mandates for 2021 have already been delayed sions reductions and energy security and serve
by more than six months because of coronavirus as an important market driver for farmers, they
(COVID-19) and the Biden administration is said.
expected to release proposals for 2021 and 2022 “Unfortunately, the promise of home-grown
concurrently, it said. biofuels and our agriculture sector appear to be
Tradeable credits, which refiners can buy woefully underrepresented in your administra-
instead of blending in biofuel, known as RINs, tion’s energy, environmental and transportation
have dropped in recent days because anticipated agenda,” they wrote.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 34 26•August•2021