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EPA Trims Bio-Fuel Mandate
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to lower the mandated 2015 and 2016 ethanol quotas for the oil industry.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to lower the mandated 2015 and 2016 ethanol quotas for the oil industry.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to lower the mandated 2015 and 2016 ethanol quotas for the oil industry.
The cutbacks recognize what the agency calls "real-world impediments" to growth in biofuel demand: low petroleum prices and reduced fuel demand by the country's increasingly more fuel efficient fleet.
The new targets would require refiners to add to gasoline 13.4 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol in 2015 and 14 billion gallons in 2016. The current mandated minimums are 15 billion gallons for each year.
Current legislation orders refiners to use 20.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels, which include biodiesel, this year and 22.25 billion gallons in 2016.
As expected, the White House also pledges to provide $100 million in funding to install blend-it-yourself pumps that motorists could use to decide how much ethanol they want to mix with their gasoline. The standard mix is 10% ethanol. Carmakers have been reluctant to recommend a richer blend, claiming higher concentrations may corrode fuel system components in older cars.
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