The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday finalized biofuel blending standards that drop, for the time being, its proposed plan to incorporate fuels used to power electric vehicles.
The EPA routinely sets requirements for how much ethanol or other biofuel needs to be blended into gasoline that powers internal combustion engine cars. If a refiner doesn’t blend enough of these fuels into its gasoline, it would need to purchase credits to make up the difference.
Late last year, the EPA proposed giving out credits when biofuels are used to power electric vehicles. It said this was in support of the goal to increase the use of biofuels, but was also expected to incentivize increased electrification.
The agency said in a statement that it instead continues to assess its proposal related to electricity and will keep working on “potential paths forward” for the program.
The EPA also reduced how much “conventional” biofuel — a category that includes corn-based ethanol — would be required for blending in 2024 and 2025 when compared to its previous proposal.
The EPA, in a written statement, said that its rule includes “steady growth” for the use of biofuels. It said that its proposal would reduce U.S. oil imports by between 130,000 to 140,000 barrels of oil per day between 2023 and 2025.
“Today’s final rule reflects our efforts to ensure stability of the program for years to come, protect consumers from high fuel costs, strengthen the rural economy, support domestic production of cleaner fuels, and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a written statement.
The reduction when compared to the proposal drew some pushback from the biofuel industry, which said that it sends a bad signal to industry about the fuel’s future.
“It’s a signal that… we’re no longer looking at a number that would project a growing pattern. Instead it’s more of a flatline pattern,” said Troy Bredenkamp, senior vice president of government and public affairs at the Renewable Fuels Association.
On the other hand, the World Resources Institute, which works on issues including climate change, said the rule is too generous to biofuels.
“Our future will not be propelled by corn — though you might think otherwise based on the Renewable Fuel Standard set by the EPA today,” said a written statement from the group’s U.S. director, Dan Lashof. “Biofuels were thought to be a climate solution fifteen years ago but today we know converting crops to fuel is a disaster for the planet. It increases emissions, raises food prices and is a terrible use of prime farmland.”
Chet Thompson, president and CEO of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, which represents refineries, called the blending requirements “unachievable” in a written statement. However, he did say he was “pleased” that the electric vehicle provisions were not included in the rule.