The proposed 2014 mandate for the Renewable Fuel Standard Program demonstrates that the RFS is irreparably broken and should be scrapped. Until Congress repeals the entire RFS, EPA should lower the total ethanol mandate and set the advanced ethanol and cellulosic ethanol mandate to zero. Despite years of trying, EPA has proven incapable of setting ethanol volumes that correspond in any way to reality, especially cellulosic ethanol. Furthermore, in the name of reducing greenhouse gas...
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WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released today its 2014 requirements for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The proposed rule scales back the ethanol mandate to the 2012 level of 15.2 billion gallons, down from 16.55 billion gallons in 2013. American Energy Alliance President Thomas Pyle released the following statement in response to the announcement:

"The American Energy Alliance welcomes today's better-late-than-never announcement that the EPA will scale back the...

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As we have explained on these pages before, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) amounts to a massive subsidy for the ethanol industry. By forcing refiners to purchase and blend rising volumes of biofuels, regardless of whether it makes economic sense, the RFS provides ethanol producers guaranteed demand for their product. To protect their mandate, the ethanol industry tries to blame oil companies and refiners to deflect the public away from the fact that the RFS forces the public to buy...
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A recent story in the LA Times explains that government officials at various levels are keen on putting little black boxes in everyone’s vehicle. Civil liberties groups are concerned—and rightly so—about Big Brother being able to track everyone’s movements. Yet even the official reason is ominous: It will allow the government to tally a citizen’s mileage and then send him or her a tax bill. Here are the chilling details:

WASHINGTON — As America's road planners struggle to find...

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All energy sources involve tradeoffs. Ethanol production, for example, requires vast amounts of farmland and additional use of fertilizer can contaminate water supplies. As a new Associated Press investigation uncovered, the environmental tradeoffs associated with ethanol production have intensified as the federal ethanol mandate has expanded. The AP explains:

With the Iowa political caucuses on the horizon in 2007, presidential candidate Barack Obama made homegrown corn a centerpiece of his...

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The EPA recently released updated Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) data showing Renewable Identification Number (RIN) generation for the month of September. A RIN is a 38-digit number assigned to a gallon of ethanol that refiners use to demonstrate compliance with the RFS. The updated data show, once again, that the EPA’s mandate for the use of cellulosic biofuel is woefully out of touch with actual production levels. The 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requires that refiners blend 6...
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In a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, members of Congress are urging the EPA to reduce the required biofuel volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2014. The letter, signed by more than 150 members from both parties, correctly points out that the RFS is a flawed policy, based on faulty assumptions, that hurts the economy and the environment:

“Unfortunately, despite the best intentions of the RFS, its premise and structure were based on many assumptions that no longer...

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[caption id="attachment_1696" align="alignright" width="300"] Image: Flickr/snake.eyes[/caption] Yesterday, AAA called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lower the 2014 ethanol mandates under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). AAA’s statement comes in response to a recently leaked draft copy of the EPA’s 2014 requirements, in which the agency weighs decreasing the total biofuel mandate. EPA’s leaked draft proposes reducing the total renewable fuel requirement to 13...
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The proponents of a carbon tax claim that it is a “market-based” approach to curbing so-called “negative externalities” (such as greenhouse gas emissions). They argue that a “putting a price” on carbon, for example, is far more efficient than command-and-control regulations where the government imposes its own technology choices on the energy sector. Yet in a recent article, Paul Krugman lets the cat out of the bag: He’s fine with the government just banning coal. Krugman’s...
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Reuters reports on the latest tomfoolery from Uncle Sam regarding biofuels:

The U.S. government on Monday announced $181 million in loan guarantees to build commercial-size refineries making advanced biofuels or to retrofit existing biorefineries to produce the cleaner-burning renewable fuels.

Since 2008, the Agriculture Department has provided $684 million through the Biorefinery Assistance Program to support projects in eight states. Applications for the latest round of funding are due...

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