A new year and a new Congress means new challenges for the ethanol industry.
The way Renewable Fuels Association head Geoff Cooper sees things for his industry with a GOP-controlled House and Democrat-led Senate.
“We’re not expecting a whole lot of activity related to renewable fuels or energy, when you’ve got a split Congress, we just don’t expect much to be happening. There’ll be oversight hearings and some noise in the House around the RFS, and things like that, but we really don’t expect to see much in the way of real activity.”
But the biofuels industry will still press its goals in Congress and at federal agencies.
“Protecting the Renewable Fuel Standard, and making sure that this recent proposal from EPA is properly implemented and implemented in a timely way. And then, our other priority, of course, is going to be securing access for year-round E15. And we certainly saw legislation introduced that would have done that for us toward the end of 2022. We fully expect to see legislation introduced, early in the new Congress.”
One area Cooper feels could see bipartisan support to allow E15 sales by next summer’s driving season. And RFA will continue its joint fight alongside EPA against several small oil refiners who lost ethanol waivers and are appealing in court.
