New Study: RFS saves consumers 22 cents on every gallon of gas

May 19, 2019 |

In Washington, D.C., according to the Renewable Fuels Association, a new study from energy policy expert, Dr. Philip K. Verleger, Jr., found that consumers save 22 cents on every gallon of gas thanks to the Renewable Fuel Standard. That’s a savings of nearly $5 every time you fill up, or $250 per American family every year.

The Renewable Fuel Standard Program: Measuring the Impact on Crude Oil and Gasoline Prices looks at the impact of the Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS) on crude oil and gasoline prices over the last four years (2015-2018). The findings highlight how the RFS has helped keep prices down at the pumps by requiring oil refiners to blend a certain amount of renewable fuel into the fuel they produce.

The blending of approximately one million barrels per day of ethanol into U.S. motor fuels under the RFS over the 2015 through 2018 period has lowered the average price of crude by $6 per barrel.

If ethanol was entirely eliminated from the fuel supply, as some opponents of renewable fuels have advocated, gasoline prices would surge by more than $1 per gallon. According to the study, “Retail prices would today be above $4 per gallon, not $2.90, were renewable supplies removed from the supply mix.”

 

Category: Fuels

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