US EPA Keeps 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards on Track

http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/policy/i/4211/

June 27, 2011


The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week announced the 2012 renewable fuel standards that will keep the US on track to reaching 36 billion gallons in 2022.

Annual renewable fuel volume targets were established under the auspices of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act. To meet the volumes, the EPA calculates a percentage-based standard each year that defines the minimum volume of renewable fuel which must be used in transportation fuel.

Next year, those targets will be total renewable biofuels of 15.2 billion gallons (9.21%), 2 gallons of advanced biofuels (1.21%), 1 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel (0.91%) and 3.45-12.9 million gallons of cellulosic biofuels (0.002-0.01%).

But the cellulosic volume for 2012 is, in fact, lower than the target set out in the Energy Independence and Security Act because availability is such as issue. The Agency says, however, that it expects commercial availability to increase in coming years.

Meanwhile, the 2012 volume for biomass-based biofuel is somewhat higher than laid out in the Act.

The EPA’s proposed volumes and standards are now open for comments until August 11, after which they will be finalised.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has welcomed the EPA’s 2012 fuel standards and particularly the agency’s “painstaking assessment” of cellulosic biofuels.

“Advanced biofuel technology is ready for commercial deployment, but access to capital remains a challenge for the industry… The Renewable Fuel Standard provides the stable, market-based policy mechanism that advanced biofuel producers and investors have been looking for,” says Brent Erickson of BIO.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has identified four areas covering 19,000 acres in Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania where the cultivation of giant Miscanthus, a grass that can be converted into biofuel, will be encouraged.

The Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) will provide financial incentives for producers establishing energy crops.