The fuel industry will be obliged to use 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol in 2017, said the EPA. It was the first time the agency has set the target for the biofuel at the maximum allowed by the 2007 energy law. The 500-million-gallon increase in the ethanol mandate comes at a time when U.S. gasoline consumption is rising and making it easier to consume larger volumes of biofuels.
The National Corn Growers Association said the 15-billion-gallon target “is critical for farmers facing difficult economic times.” From 35-40 percent of each year’s corn crop is used in distilling ethanol, which traditionally is blended at a 10-percent rate into gasoline for cars and light trucks. The Renewable Fuels Association said the 2017 ethanol mandate, which was higher than EPA proposed in May, showed federal commitment to biofuels and would “stimulate new interest in cellulosic ethanol” made from grasses and woody plants.
While the EPA set the corn mandate at the maximum level, it set the target for so-called advanced biofuels, which produce half as much carbon emissions as petroleum, at 4.28 billion gallons, and specified that half of the amount will come from biodiesel. The 2007 law envisioned rapid growth for second-generation biofuels that would swell to 9 billion gallons in 2017. But few commercial-scale refineries are in business, so the government has repeatedly set the advanced biofuels mandate at comparatively low volumes.
The petroleum industry has repeatedly said the gasoline market is saturated with ethanol and it is impossible to absorb more of the alternative fuel. The American Petroleum Institute, a trade group, called for repeal or substantial rewriting of the Renewable Fuels Standard.
Gasoline consumption fell during the 2008-09 recession and was relatively stagnant for years afterward. Consumption recovered to pre-recession levels in 2015 and continues to climb this year, according to the Energy Department.
To visit the EPA homepage for the Renewable Fuels Standard, or to read the final rule for the 2017 RFS, click here.