WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2015 - A new coalition
has been formed to support the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which is facing EPA-proposed
cutbacks. Jim Talent, a former Republican senator from Missouri, said Americans for Energy Security and Innovation is comprised
of ethanol producers and investors.
AESI, he said, “will focus its efforts on building support for a stronger RFS
to reduce our dependence on foreign oil from unfriendly nations and stimulate
domestic innovation and economic development in the biofuels sector."
The resources AESI can bring to the
debate are needed given the considerably deeper pockets of the oil industry and
others looking to weaken or kill the RFS, said Talent, who is heading up the
group.
AESI will contribute "to the
ongoing efforts to ensure that the RFS remains America's most successful energy
policy," Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen said. He
called Talent “an enthusiastic and outspoken supporter of the U.S. ethanol
industry.”
“We look forward to hearing the
ideas this new group will put forth to ensure that the American public has
access to clean, secure, affordable home-grown sources of energy. Indeed, the
RFS is law today in no small part because of Senator Talent's leadership on the
Energy Committee during his tenure representing the people of Missouri. He
knows far better than most the rural economic, energy security and economic
promise of the RFS."
Tom Buis, the CEO of Growth
Energy, said in a statement, "We are pleased that Americans for Energy
Security and Innovation have joined the important fight to ensure that the RFS
is protected and that America has a strong, robust, and resilient renewable
fuels industry."
Talent said he was one of the
“prime movers” behind passage of the RFS during the George W. Bush
administration. "I believe that biofuels are the most feasible replacement
for oil as automobile fuel, and that we need a strong RFS so that private
investors can develop the biofuels industry with adequate assurance that their
potential market won't be destroyed by manipulations from the foreign oil
cartel."
The RFS has been a
"successful policy over the past decade," noting that 10 percent of
the nation's fuel supply now comes from cost-competitive biofuels, which he
said had created more than 850,000 jobs, Talent adds.
However, AESI’s position is that
the EPA took a “step backwards” in May when it proposed the annual blending
targets at lower levels than were intended when the RFS was enacted into law.
"These proposed standards
jeopardize the already frozen $13.7 billion in existing investments in advanced
biofuels, while threatening to ship future investments and jobs overseas,"
Talent said. The administration's justification for the lower biofuel blending
levels uses a criteria that is not included in the EPA's clearly statutory
waiver authority, he maintains.
"The RFS has been the only
consistent and effective energy policy that Washington has produced," said
Talent. "Yet, the Obama administration plans to ax the only policy we have
on the books that actually works to wean us off our dependence on fuels
controlled by foreign oil cartels, while creating jobs at home."
Talent says AESI "will
work to create an environment to prevent regulations and restrictions to the
renewable fuel industry by increasing support and mobilizing elected officials
to support our efforts."
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