THE RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD: A QUICK REVIEW

Tricia Braid

Aug 16, 2018  |  Today's News |  Ethanol |  Legislation & Regulation

Don’t forget! Comments are due to the EPA docket on their proposed rule for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) RVO proposal. Re-read this member update for the details. Looking for a quick review of the high-points of the RFS and what it means to you as a corn farmer? Look no further than this daily member update from IL Corn.

 

The RFS:

  • Has spurred economic growth for farmers and rural communities
  • Provides a dependable policy structure that supports stable markets and technological advancements in the biofuel industry
  • Reduced 2017 GHG emissions by the same amount as taking 11.4 million vehicles off the road for a year
  • Has not significantly impacted agriculture land use. The area planted to principal crops is lower in 2018 than in 2000. Farmers are producing more corn because their productivity has risen by an average of 25 bushels per acre since 2007, not because they are using more acres
  • Has not increased the price of gas or food, which are both declining. The price of corn is lower now than when the RFS was expanded in 2007 Is not a “mandate."
  • The annual standards set by EPA simply allow American-made renewable fuels space to compete at the pump

 

For more than 20 years, the IL Corn has worked side by side with farmers, industry, and government to build the biofuels industry from the ground up. Corn farmers and biofuel producers have moved our nation closer to energy independence, brought consumers cleaner-burning fuels and helped revitalize rural America by creating green jobs and new economic activity. This success and growth is due in large part to the RFS.

 

Congress created the RFS through the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which amended the Clean Air Act (CAA). Two years later, Congress further amended the CAA by significantly expanding the RFS in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). This law is often referred to as “RFS2.” The RFS requires oil companies to blend increasing amounts of renewable fuels with gasoline and diesel, allowing biofuels access to a closed market.