The Advanced Biofuels Association called for changes to the Renewable Fuels Standard, which guarantees a share of the gasoline market to renewable fuels, so the sector can expand from demonstration plants to full-scale commercial operations. The RFS “is only minimally helpful to advance the promise and potential of next-generation renewable fuels,” said ABFA president Michael McAdams. The group said it would seek three things from Congress: a clear statement that the RFS “extends beyond 2022 to allow sufficient time to develop this industry”; a minimum price on so-called RINs for cellulosic biofuels; and a requirement that marketers buy advanced fuels rather than credits that are a bookkeeping substitute for them.
An oil-industry group said the RFS is unworkable and second-generation biofuels cost too much to produce. “At a bare minimum, any reform must include a hard sunset date at which time cellulosic fuels must be able to compete in the market,” said the oil group. A 2007 law sets a goal of producing 21 billion gallons annually of advanced biofuels by 2022. Current production is only a fraction of that.