The path is clear for corn-based ethanol to exceed the 15 billion gallon cap in the renewable fuel standard (RFS), according to U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson speaking at a Feb. 3 White House press conference. EPA released the final rule just before the conference, including changes to the greenhouse gas (GHG) modeling that found all classes of biofuels meet the RFS GHG reduction goals. “We listened to public comment and worked closely with the USDA,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, noting there were three major areas that changed the GHG ratings for corn ethanol. ”On crop productivity, the data we used was not right,” she said, and when current yield information was incorporated the numbers changed. The EPA also changed the way it considered coproducts and the indirect land use modeling was broadened beyond the initial 40 nations to include 120 nations, which changed the numbers, she said.
Where corn ethanol and soy-based biodiesel fared badly in the proposed rule, which Jackson admitted constricted market investment, the final rule should give investors renewed confidence in biofuels. “Based on what we know now, including indirect land use change, there is no basis to exclude these fuels,” Jackson said.
The good news for the ethanol industry is that EPA’s final rule finds that production from highly-efficient, natural gas corn ethanol plants will meet greenhouse gas reduction targets of 20 percent, compared to the 2005 gasoline baseline, and can be applied to RFS targets above 15 billion gallon. Existing, less efficient corn ethanol plants will still be grandfathered in, and will be held to the 15 billion gallon cap.
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