EPA set to enforce ethanol plant emissions as non-renewable resource
In Washington, the Environmental Protection Agency will begin enforcing new laws in January that require ethanol plants to change the way they calculate their greenhouse gas emissions. The new rules would count as greenhouse gases the carbon dioxide that’s released when corn is fermented into motor fuel or when corn stalks, straw and other sources of biomass are burned to make electricity.
Analysts suggest that by doing so would encourage continued use of fossil fuels to operate plants rather than switch to biomass because the direct emissions are roughly the same if biomass is no longer considered carbon neutral. The environmental agency announced this summer that it was taking a second look at the emissions issue and asked for industry and public comment.
Category: Policy
