Congress can ensure more consumer choice in fuels and vehicles by taking greater advantage of low-cost, low-emissions biofuels like ethanol, a leader of the National Corn Growers Association told members of Congress today.
“As producers of the sustainable, primary feedstock for low carbon ethanol, corn farmers stand behind agriculture’s contribution to low-cost, cleaner, domestic energy,” NCGA CEO Neil Caskey said during testimony before the Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “Their production improvements will help achieve biofuels with net-zero emissions and higher ethanol blends cost less.”
In his testimony, Caskey discussed several bills that that would leverage the benefits of biofuels to ensure a level playing field in transportation, including:
- The Fuels Parity Act, which ensures EPA uses the most accurate lifecycle emissions assessment for biofuels: the Department of Energy Argonne National Lab’s GREET model. The legislation recognizes progress made under the Renewable Fuel Standard, allowing all fuels, including corn ethanol, that meet the 50 percent lower GHG standard for an advanced biofuel to qualify as an advanced biofuel.
- The Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, which would permanently remove outdated and unnecessary barriers to full market access to 15 percent ethanol-blended fuel, a lower-cost and lower emissions choice.
- Next Generation Fuels Act, which considers fuels and vehicles as a system, would improve our nation’s liquid fuel supply and transition new combustion vehicles to use advanced engines that take advantage of better fuels, such as higher blends of ethanol. This transition to updated fuels and vehicles would cut fuel costs, reduce GHG and other transportation emissions and increase fuel efficiency.
Caskey said NCGA supports policies to further reduce emissions from vehicles but is opposed to EPA’s proposed approach for emission standards.
“EPA’s proposed rule envisions only one solution to meet new standards, electric vehicles, without accounting for their full lifecycle emissions,” he said. “Rather than endorse a single technology, we are urging EPA to focus on outcomes and open pathways for all low-carbon fuels and technologies, as well as advance a needed rulemaking to improve fuels.”