Fix the Failed Biofuel Policy
There's now even more evidence that
the Renewable Fuel Standard is a failure.
By Ryan Alexander | Contributor
Dec. 7, 2016, at 7:00 a.m.
November was a roller coaster ride
for our nation's biofuels mandate. On Nov. 28, two new reports by the
Government Accountability Office – Congress' non-partisan watchdog agency –
were released echoing what my organization has said for years: the Renewable
Fuel Standard is a failure. While the standard was intended to help achieve
U.S. energy independence and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the GAO found
the opposite: "It is unlikely that the goals of the Renewable
Fuel Standard will be met … because there is limited production of advanced
biofuels to be blended into domestic transportation fuels."
The majority of Renewable Fuel
Standard gallons consumed to date have instead been corn-starch ethanol, a
biofuel that may actually increase emissions. Meanwhile, production of
cellulosic biofuels, required to reduce emissions by at least 60 percent, has
fallen at least 95 percent short of Congressional mandates.
Rewind to the Wednesday before
Thanksgiving, when the Environmental Protection Agency handed the corn ethanol
lobby an early Christmas present: a 15 billion gallon blending requirement in
2017, an increase of 200 million gallons from the agency's proposal this
summer, but on par with the mandate Congress set in 2007. If the EPA would have
heeded its own advice (or the GAO's, or that of the National Academy of Sciences or the Congressional
Budget Office), it would have reversed course.
The EPA's own analysis this summer showed the Renewable
Fuel Standard resulted in $1.6-$3.5 billion in higher fuel costs from 2014 to
now. Not only does the higher corn ethanol volume ignore the limited amount of
ethanol that can be blended into the current gasoline market (known as the
"blend wall"), it also ignores a laundry list of higher costs for
consumers and taxpayers brought about by the industry's rapid expansion.
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
November was a roller coaster ride for our nation's
biofuels mandate. On Nov. 28, two new reports by the Government
Accountability Office – Congress' non-partisan watchdog agency – were
released echoing what my organization has said for years: the Renewable
Fuel Standard is a failure. While the standard was intended to help
achieve U.S. energy independence and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
the GAO found the opposite:
"It is unlikely that the goals of the Renewable Fuel Standard will be
met … because there is limited production of advanced biofuels to be
blended into domestic transportation fuels."
The majority of Renewable Fuel Standard gallons consumed
to date have instead been corn-starch ethanol, a biofuel that may
actually increase emissions. Meanwhile, production of cellulosic biofuels, required to reduce emissions by at least 60 percent, has fallen at least 95 percent short of Congressional mandates.
Rewind to the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, when the
Environmental Protection Agency handed the corn ethanol lobby an early
Christmas present: a 15 billion gallon blending requirement in 2017, an
increase of 200 million gallons from the agency's proposal this summer,
but on par with the mandate Congress set in 2007. If the EPA would have
heeded its own advice (or the GAO's, or that of the National Academy of Sciences or the Congressional Budget Office), it would have reversed course.
The EPA's own analysis
this summer showed the Renewable Fuel Standard resulted in $1.6-$3.5
billion in higher fuel costs from 2014 to now. Not only does the higher
corn ethanol volume ignore the limited amount of ethanol that can be
blended into the current gasoline market (known as the "blend wall"), it
also ignores a laundry list of higher costs for consumers and taxpayers
brought about by the industry's rapid expansion.
The program has a litany of costs, including those of higher fuel and food prices, worse public health, water pollution and more. The icing on the cake is nearly four decades of tens of billions in federal subsidies for everything from biofuels research and development to subsidies for special ethanol pumps.
The second report
by the Congressional watchdog released on Monday tallied the cost of
just advanced biofuels research and development from fiscal years
2013-15, estimating it cost taxpayers $1.1 billion. This does not even
account for the billions in corn and soybean subsidies in the farm bill
or other biofuels subsidies spread across at least five federal agencies.
Special ethanol blender pumps also cost more since old pumps must be
replaced to dispense ethanol, which is more corrosive than gasoline. At
Taxpayers for Common Sense, we awarded Agriculture Secretary Vilsack a Golden Fleece in 2015
for his efforts to continue to bolster the mature corn ethanol industry
despite Congressional, consumer and taxpayer opposition.
The Renewable Fuel Standard has failed as a means to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and has cost taxpayers dearly along the
way. Incidentally, the GAO found
a more efficient option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions without
unintended impacts would be a carbon tax, something my organization has
supported for years. It is time for the new Congress and the next
administration to listen to the growing body of evidence and fix our
failed biofuels policies.
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
November was a roller coaster ride for our nation's
biofuels mandate. On Nov. 28, two new reports by the Government
Accountability Office – Congress' non-partisan watchdog agency – were
released echoing what my organization has said for years: the Renewable
Fuel Standard is a failure. While the standard was intended to help
achieve U.S. energy independence and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
the GAO found the opposite:
"It is unlikely that the goals of the Renewable Fuel Standard will be
met … because there is limited production of advanced biofuels to be
blended into domestic transportation fuels."
The majority of Renewable Fuel Standard gallons consumed
to date have instead been corn-starch ethanol, a biofuel that may
actually increase emissions. Meanwhile, production of cellulosic biofuels, required to reduce emissions by at least 60 percent, has fallen at least 95 percent short of Congressional mandates.
Rewind to the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, when the
Environmental Protection Agency handed the corn ethanol lobby an early
Christmas present: a 15 billion gallon blending requirement in 2017, an
increase of 200 million gallons from the agency's proposal this summer,
but on par with the mandate Congress set in 2007. If the EPA would have
heeded its own advice (or the GAO's, or that of the National Academy of Sciences or the Congressional Budget Office), it would have reversed course.
The EPA's own analysis
this summer showed the Renewable Fuel Standard resulted in $1.6-$3.5
billion in higher fuel costs from 2014 to now. Not only does the higher
corn ethanol volume ignore the limited amount of ethanol that can be
blended into the current gasoline market (known as the "blend wall"), it
also ignores a laundry list of higher costs for consumers and taxpayers
brought about by the industry's rapid expansion.
The program has a litany of costs, including those of higher fuel and food prices, worse public health, water pollution and more. The icing on the cake is nearly four decades of tens of billions in federal subsidies for everything from biofuels research and development to subsidies for special ethanol pumps.
The second report
by the Congressional watchdog released on Monday tallied the cost of
just advanced biofuels research and development from fiscal years
2013-15, estimating it cost taxpayers $1.1 billion. This does not even
account for the billions in corn and soybean subsidies in the farm bill
or other biofuels subsidies spread across at least five federal agencies.
Special ethanol blender pumps also cost more since old pumps must be
replaced to dispense ethanol, which is more corrosive than gasoline. At
Taxpayers for Common Sense, we awarded Agriculture Secretary Vilsack a Golden Fleece in 2015
for his efforts to continue to bolster the mature corn ethanol industry
despite Congressional, consumer and taxpayer opposition.
The Renewable Fuel Standard has failed as a means to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and has cost taxpayers dearly along the
way. Incidentally, the GAO found
a more efficient option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions without
unintended impacts would be a carbon tax, something my organization has
supported for years. It is time for the new Congress and the next
administration to listen to the growing body of evidence and fix our
failed biofuels policies.
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
November was a roller coaster ride for our nation's
biofuels mandate. On Nov. 28, two new reports by the Government
Accountability Office – Congress' non-partisan watchdog agency – were
released echoing what my organization has said for years: the Renewable
Fuel Standard is a failure. While the standard was intended to help
achieve U.S. energy independence and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
the GAO found the opposite:
"It is unlikely that the goals of the Renewable Fuel Standard will be
met … because there is limited production of advanced biofuels to be
blended into domestic transportation fuels."
The majority of Renewable Fuel Standard gallons consumed
to date have instead been corn-starch ethanol, a biofuel that may
actually increase emissions. Meanwhile, production of cellulosic biofuels, required to reduce emissions by at least 60 percent, has fallen at least 95 percent short of Congressional mandates.
Rewind to the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, when the
Environmental Protection Agency handed the corn ethanol lobby an early
Christmas present: a 15 billion gallon blending requirement in 2017, an
increase of 200 million gallons from the agency's proposal this summer,
but on par with the mandate Congress set in 2007. If the EPA would have
heeded its own advice (or the GAO's, or that of the National Academy of Sciences or the Congressional Budget Office), it would have reversed course.
The EPA's own analysis
this summer showed the Renewable Fuel Standard resulted in $1.6-$3.5
billion in higher fuel costs from 2014 to now. Not only does the higher
corn ethanol volume ignore the limited amount of ethanol that can be
blended into the current gasoline market (known as the "blend wall"), it
also ignores a laundry list of higher costs for consumers and taxpayers
brought about by the industry's rapid expansion.
The program has a litany of costs, including those of higher fuel and food prices, worse public health, water pollution and more. The icing on the cake is nearly four decades of tens of billions in federal subsidies for everything from biofuels research and development to subsidies for special ethanol pumps.
The second report
by the Congressional watchdog released on Monday tallied the cost of
just advanced biofuels research and development from fiscal years
2013-15, estimating it cost taxpayers $1.1 billion. This does not even
account for the billions in corn and soybean subsidies in the farm bill
or other biofuels subsidies spread across at least five federal agencies.
Special ethanol blender pumps also cost more since old pumps must be
replaced to dispense ethanol, which is more corrosive than gasoline. At
Taxpayers for Common Sense, we awarded Agriculture Secretary Vilsack a Golden Fleece in 2015
for his efforts to continue to bolster the mature corn ethanol industry
despite Congressional, consumer and taxpayer opposition.
The Renewable Fuel Standard has failed as a means to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and has cost taxpayers dearly along the
way. Incidentally, the GAO found
a more efficient option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions without
unintended impacts would be a carbon tax, something my organization has
supported for years. It is time for the new Congress and the next
administration to listen to the growing body of evidence and fix our
failed biofuels policies.
No comments:
Post a Comment