RFA debunks EPRINC paper on Renewable Fuel Standard

In Washington, the Renewable Fuels Association’s Geoff Cooper issued a stringing analysis of an anti-RFS paper issued by EPRINC, first noting that the non-profit is “staffed by former oil company employees, and directed by a board of trustees that is a veritable who’s-who of Big Oil executives—including AFPM’s president and top lobbyist. EPRINC was formerly (and less ambiguously) known as the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation.” Cooper noted that, for example, the paper contends that “The RFS’ volumetric mandates have created inelastic demand for ethanol,” but “then acknowledges that ethanol production has plummeted since the beginning of the year…as high corn prices have caused many ethanol producers to idle production.” The paper suggests that eliminating the RFS could be partially offset by increasing gasoline imports – Cooper notes “increasing imports of finished gasoline from Europe defeats the entire purpose of the RFS, which is to reduce dependence on foreign oil sources – and further notes that ” 80% of the crude oil processed by European refineries comes from OPEC and Russia and is typically priced much higher than most of the crude oil processed by U.S. refiners.”