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America
is Ready for Higher Ethanol Blends
By: Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
December 8, 2008
Nearly one year ago, landmark energy legislation was signed in to law
that included several important provisions aimed at moving our country
toward greater energy independence and addressing climate change. Of
those varied provisions, the increased Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS)
has had the greatest impact on significantly changing our energy economy
by supporting renewable sources of clean, homegrown energy. By requiring
the production and use of at least 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels
in this country by 2022, the passage of this appropriately aggressive
RFS signaled a critical shift in our country’s priorities with regard
to energy production. The increased RFS is particularly aggressive in
the early years of the bill, calling for the use of 10.5 billion gallons
of renewable fuels by 2009 and increasing to 15 billion gallons by 2015.
However, there are obstacles standing in the way of reaching the ambitious
goals set by the increased RFS and the resulting increase in the amount
of renewable fuels available for consumption. Most notable of those
obstacles is an EPA regulation stating that gasoline intended for use
by non-flex fuel vehicles cannot be blended with more than 10% ethanol.
By not allowing greater percentages of ethanol to be blended with gasoline,
more ethanol will be produced than can legally be distributed, and therefore
consumed, creating what has been termed a “blend wall.” Hitting this
blend wall would effectively bring industry growth to a stand still
and significantly undermine the progress we have made in establishing
renewable biofuels as a critical component in our country’s diverse
energy portfolio. Additionally, the blend wall’s effect on the ethanol
industry would adversely impact efforts to develop promising advanced
biofuels like cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel.
Many objections have been raised in response to calls for increasing
the amount of ethanol than can be blended with gasoline, many coming
from the U.S. automobile industry. However, at a time when the U.S.
auto industry is requesting federal assistance from Congress, I believe
that any aid should not only contain significant taxpayer protections,
but also require serious and bold steps on behalf of the automakers
to help our country move toward greater energy independence. That’s
why recently I wrote Speaker Pelosi and House Financial Services Committee
Chairman Barney Frank requesting that in order to access federal financing,
U.S. automakers should: redouble their commitment to meet or exceed
fuel economy standards set for them by Congress; agree not to place
unfounded warranty objections in the way of the widespread adoption
of mid-range ethanol blends like E15 for use in standard vehicles; and
transform their aspirational goal for the production of flex-fuel vehicles
– 50 percent of production by 2012 -- to a hard and enforceable goal
of reaching that level by 2012 or earlier.
These steps are each reasonable,
achievable and beneficial to our national energy policy. Taking these
steps would also play an important role in meeting the ambitious requirements
for fuel efficiency improvements and facilitating the transition to
advanced biofuels that Congress set for the nation in the historic 2007
Energy Bill. A key to meeting the new Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS)
and ensuring the smooth transition to advanced biofuels under the RFS
is preserving current ethanol infrastructure and reassuring investors
that ethanol will remain viable as a path to advanced biofuels. The
conditions outlined above would help to accomplish that goal.
In addition to steps that must be taken by automakers to support the
use of clean, home-grown energy, we must ensure that consumers have
greater access to renewable fuels at gas stations across the country.
Earlier this year, I introduced the E85 and Biodiesel Access Act (H.R.
6734) which streamlines the process and provides greater incentives
for service station owners to install clean-fuel vehicle refueling property.
This bill gives consumers the option to utilize clean sources of fuel
that support rural economies and encourage American energy independence.
The National Ethanol Vehicle Association has said that if the E85 and
Biodiesel Access Act became law: “the nation would have no less than
10,000 E85 fueling sites in a short period of time.” I’m hopeful that
in the new Congress, we will pass similar legislation to greatly increase
the relatively small number of existing pumps that dispense fuels with
greater concentrations of ethanol.
We must not waiver in our commitment to renewable fuels. The passage
of the historic RFS was only the beginning of a new energy economy in
our country. Industry officials and government leaders must work together
to ensure that a market exists for the renewable fuels as production
levels increase. Through the cooperation of renewable energy and automobile
industry leaders, Congress, and government agencies, we can reach our
shared goal of achieving greater energy independence through the use
of homegrown renewable fuels.
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