Biofuel and farm groups charge the Environmental Protection Agency, in its proposed tailpipe emission standards, is forcing automakers to produce more electric vehicles while ignoring the clean air benefits of biofuels. The groups argue EPA would create a de facto EV mandate for 2027 and later light- and medium-duty vehicles instead of a market-driven, technology-neutral approach.
Renewable Fuels Association head Geoff Cooper; “They want to get to net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by 2050 or sooner. We think that’s probably possible to do, but it’s going to require honesty and transparency, and scientific robustness in the way we assess emissions. And that’s why we think ethanol plays a significant role in helping to drive down emissions from the transportation sector.”
RFA, Growth Energy, National Corn Growers, and others say two-thirds of new light-duty vehicle sales could be EVs by 2032 based on EPA’s own data. Cooper says EPA’ ‘stacked the deck’ against biofuels.
Cooper; “They’re cherry-picking just one source of emissions when they look at electric vehicles. And they look at electric vehicles and they say, ‘There’s no tailpipe on those vehicles, and therefore, there’s no emissions.’ Well, we know that’s ridiculous because there are significant emissions associated with the production of electricity. There are emissions associated with the production of the battery and the extraction of the minerals that go into the battery, and EPA is ignoring all of that.”
The groups covering convenience stores, travel and truck stops, and fuel marketers wrote EPA chief Michael Regan the speed that EPA expects consumers to embrace electric vehicles is a ‘bridge too far.’
Cooper; “Maybe they’re not ready to spend ten-thousand dollars more for an electric vehicle than a conventional vehicle. They’re not ready to sit and wait for hours for those vehicles to charge, if they can find a charging station. So, I think EPA’s assessment of the consumer and marketplace response to these regulations is divorced from reality.”
Cooper says EPA could issue final tailpipe emission standards by the end of the year.
