Union of Concerned Scientists, RFA call for more biofuel investment in wake of oil spill

In Washington, the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Renewable Fuels Association linked increased investment in biofuels to the solution to offshore drilling risks demonstrated by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Brendan Bell, a federal policy analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said “The unfolding disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is a vivid reminder that America’s oil dependence puts our environment, national security and economy at risk. This spill should be a wake-up call for Washington to finally get serious about curbing America’s oil addiction. Boosting fuel economy to 42 miles per gallon by 2020 would save more oil every day than 40 BP gulf oil spills. The real ticket to reducing our oil dependence is stronger fuel economy standards, more clean homegrown biofuels, and a 21st century transportation system.”

The RFA’s Bob Dinneen said, “The EPA should immediately move to allow for the blending of 12% ethanol by volume in each gallon of gasoline…EPA should grant a full waiver for the use of 15% ethanol blends as soon as the Department of Energy testing on catalytic converters is completed early this summer. Current EPA guidance on the issue suggests it is only considering a partial waiver for E-15 used in vehicles model year 2001 and newer. Such a bifurcation of the market would create unnecessary confusion for retailers and consumers…the Department of Energy (DOE) must reevaluate current loan guarantee programs to make them more accessible to next generation ethanol technologies, such as cellulose-to-ethanol conversion. This largest obstacle facing the commercial deployment of these cleaner and more sustainable technologies is access to capital.”

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Tags: biofuels, RFA, UCS

Category: Opinion, Producer News