Senator Joe Donnelly today responded to the EPA announcement that they will reduce the requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2014, which is the law requiring a certain volume of renewable fuel in the overall fuel supply sold in the United States. Renewable fuels include ethanol, cellulosic biofuel, biomass biodiesel, and other advanced biodiesels. “The production and use of biofuels that are grown and developed right here at home helps our economy and increases our national security by lessening our dependence on foreign oil,” said Donnelly. “I am frustrated and disappointed that the EPA has lowered the volume of renewable fuels required in our overall fuel supply. Cutting the volume of renewable fuels required in our transportation fuel will hurt Indiana workers and hurt Indiana’s economy.”
The RFS was first established in 2005 and updated in 2007 to ensure a minimum level of renewable energy use in our transportation fuel supply. The 2013 requirements were 13.8 billion gallons of ethanol and 2.75 billion gallons of other advanced biofuels. Under law, the 2014 requirements are set at 14.4 billion gallons of ethanol and 3.75 billion gallons of other advanced biofuels. The new 2014 requirements announced by EPA today would lower the requirements to 13.01 billion gallons of ethanol and 2.2 billion gallons of other advanced biofuels.