A co-sponsor of a Senate amendment to eliminate annual targets for ethanol consumption says the amendment will not be called for a vote as part of debate on the Keystone pipeline. “At this point, it’s unlikely we will bring that to a vote,” Sen Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania Republican, told Agri-Pulse. The Toomey-Feinstein amendment was similar to an anti-mandate bill proposed last year.
“Renewable-fuels advocates are promising to spend millions putting ethanol back in the debate” ahead of the Iowa caucuses that start the presidential nominating process in January 2016, says Bloomberg. It says Iowa Gov Terry Branstad, backed by biofuels trade group Growth Energy and state groups, formed America’s Renewable Future. One organizer told Bloomberg the group will try to make presidential candidates take a stand on ethanol, now made predominantly from corn.
The drop in petroleum prices has made ethanol less attractive as an alternative fuel. It commonly is mixed as a 10 percent blend into gasoline. DTN said the EPA will release the long-delayed 2014 ethanol mandate this spring. EPA proposed a relaxation in the mandate in November 2013 and has spent months in analyzing a deluge of material that favors a lower requirement or supports the figure set by law, of 14.4 billion gallons, for 2014. The mandate would rise to 15 billion this year.