In a potentially significant change to the U.S. ethanol mandate, the EPA is considering whether to allow exports of ethanol to be counted toward the volume requirements in a law intended to boost the domestic consumption of biofuels, said Reuters, citing two unnamed sources. The ethanol trade group Growth Energy said the proposal cast doubt on the Trump administration’s support for biofuels, including corn-based ethanol.
President Trump campaigned in farm country on tax reform, regulatory relief, and support for ethanol, and he has repeated the ethanol pledge since taking office. A 2007 law calls for the increased use of biofuels each year. The oil industry says the U.S. fuel market is saturated at the required 10 percent mix of ethanol in gasoline for cars and light trucks.
“The current proposal, still in the discussion stage in the office of EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, is seen as a way,” said Reuters, to reduce the financial burden on refiners, who are obliged to blend biofuels into gasoline or to buy credits from other blenders. At present, credits apply only to fuel used in the United States. If exports were counted, blenders could claim additional ethanol use of up to 1 billion gallons a year.
“While we cannot speculate on whether this rumor is being given any sort of official consideration, what is absolutely clear is that the idea runs contrary to the intent and plain language of the statute,” said Emily Skor, chief executive of Growth Energy, adding that “we are concerned about the EPA’s and the administration’s commitment to supporting biofuels.”