Opinion: Raising the bar for biofuels in service of energy security

For policymakers who have grown complacent about U.S. energy security, the past six months have been a rude awakening. Consumers were already facing historically high fuel prices prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Then the ban on Russian crude oil and instability in the global market pushed fuel prices to new heights. Fortunately, biofuel blends like E15 have helped shield against skyrocketing fuel prices, saving American motorists almost a dollar per gallon in some areas of the country.

Policymakers understand the need to put those savings within reach of more drivers. This June, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 7606, the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act. The bill included key provisions that would permanently lift barriers to year-round sales of 15 percent bioethanol-blended fuel. Members of Congress across the political spectrum joined the push.

But biofuels are more than just an affordable alternative to Russian oil. They are the leading edge of a U.S. bioeconomy offering transformative solutions to global climate and energy challenges. That is why the Biden administration’s decision on the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, is another important sign of progress.

New Renewable Volume Obligations, or RVOs, set by the Environmental Protection Agency in June will determine how many gallons of cleaner-burning, renewable biofuel should be blended into the fuel supply. While the requirements for 2020 and 2021 were far from ideal, the 2022 RVOs raised the bar for future growth, and we’re looking toward the future.

Not only did EPA ensure consumer access to the full 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuels required by Congress, regulators restored the first half of 500 million gallons that had been illegally waived in the 2016 RVOs. It also halted improper refinery exemptions, a move that will return much-needed certainty to the biofuel industry and the entire fuel supply chain. Taken together, these actions demonstrate EPA’s commitment to getting the RFS back on track and underscore the critical role biofuels play — and will continue to play — in mitigating climate change and lowering prices at the pump.

The decision also positions EPA for success as it works on a new rule — “the Set” — that picks up where Congress left off in the RFS and establishes multi-year requirements for 2023 and beyond.

As President Joe Biden said recently during a trip to Menlo, Iowa, “you simply can’t get to net zero by 2050 without biofuels.” In fact, researchers at Argonne National Laboratory, EPA, and a host of other leaders in the field of emissions modeling all recognize the undeniable climate benefits of bioethanol: a nearly 50% carbon advantage when compared to gasoline, according to a report published in 2021 by Environmental Research Letters based on the work of Environmental Health & Engineering Inc. researchers, with financial support from POET, LLC.

America is the world’s largest producer of biofuels, and we should be making use of our full capacity in the push for greater energy security and a healthy climate. Rural workers and farmers across the heartland are ready to lead the charge, and with a forward-looking RFS, we can finally break old patterns of reliance on expensive fossil fuels.

To stay on the path to net zero while keeping fuel prices in check will require consistent support for affordable, clean liquid fuels and permanent solutions to guarantee consumer access to higher bioethanol blends like E15.

Fortunately, we have great champions fighting by our side. Lawmakers such as Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley and Reps. Cindy Axne, Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Randy Feenstra were instrumental in passing the year-round E15 legislation in the House and pressing the White House to unleash Iowa biofuels to protect working families from volatile oil markets. Now we need to maintain that momentum, expand the role of biofuels across the entire transportation sector.

Emily Skor is CEO of Growth Energy.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Opinion: Keep supporting biofuels to move away from fossil fuels