When the EPA set the Renewable Fuels Standard for this year, it nicked the target for corn ethanol by 3 percent compared to the goal set in a 2007 law. It also halved the goal for advanced biofuels, which include cellulosic ethanol made from grass, woody plants and crop debris. DuPont says in a court filing that EPA’s decision puts at risk its investment in a 30-million-gallon-a-year cellulosic plant in central Iowa, reports DTN.
DuPont seeks to join a lawsuit in U.S. appeals court that was filed by farm and pro-ethanol groups who want a higher RFS.
DTN quoted DuPont as saying, “Having made this substantial investment, DuPont is keenly interested in ensuring that the RFS program remains true to its intended purpose — incentivizing investment to grow the renewable fuel market in the United States.”
Advanced biofuels are years later than expected in coming into commercial production. There are three large-scale cellulosic plants in the United States. For this year, the EPA set the mandate for advanced biofuels at 3.61 billion gallons and assigned most of it to biodiesel. The agency said its target for cellulosic biofuels was 200 million gallons, seven times more than was produced in 2014.