Court vacates 2012 cellulosic biofuel standard, affirms 2012 advanced biofuel standard.
In Washington, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the advanced biofuels requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), while ordering the EPA to reset the cellulosic biofuels target.
“We agree with API that because EPA’s methodology for making its cellulosic biofuel projection did not take neutral aim at accuracy, it was an unreasonable exercise of agency discretion,” the court wrote.
There are 32 companies that are building or have built cellulosic ethanol facilities in the US, and those companies expect to have at least 308 million gallons of cellulosic capacity by the end of 2015.
The court rejected API’s argument that EPA was not entitled to consider information from cellulosic biofuel producers in setting its projection, finding that cellulosic producers were, of course, an “almost inevitable source of information” for EPA. Nonetheless, the court vacated the cellulosic biofuel standard because it believed that EPA had impermissibly set the volume with the objective of promoting growth in the industry, rather than simply making an accurate prediction. EPA is free to reinstate the volumes that it had established, as long as the information available at the time would support the agency’s conclusion that those volumes were reasonably achievable.
“This is just the latest in a series of cases in which the oil industry has tried unsuccessfully to re-litigate the standards for renewable fuels, and it is yet another victory for our nation’s shift toward cleaner, more diverse energy supplies,” said Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs for the National Biodiesel Board.
In a joint statement, Advanced Biofuels Association, the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the American Coalition for Ethanol, and the Advanced Ethanol Council said:
“Aalthough we disagree with the court’s decision vacating the 2012 cellulosic volumes, today’s decision once again rejects broad-brushed attempts to effectively roll back the federal Renewable Fuel Standard.”
Category: Policy
