Advanced biofuel companies thank Trump for commitment to RFS

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Advanced biofuel companies thank Trump for commitment to RFS

A group of 19 advanced biofuel companies sent a letter to President Trump on Nov. 8 thanking him for his commitment to the Renewable Fuel Standard and outlining the need to set strong advanced and cellulosic targets in the 2018 RFS rule.

“As you have stated on several occasions, the RFS is critical to the effort to reinvigorate growth in America’s heartland and make America more energy secure,” said the companies in the letter. “The RFS already supports hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs, creates new market opportunities for America’s farmers and innovators, and has attracted billions of dollars of investment in first-of-a-kind technologies in the advanced and cellulosic biofuels industry.”

Within the letter, the advanced biofuel companies note that the RFS is poised to drive the next manufacturing wave in the U.S. The letter stresses that many of the same companies and regions that produce first-generation biofuels are now commercializing advanced and cellulosic biofuel technologies. “And emerging technologies can convert an even broader assortment of biomass and waste materials into American-made biofuels,” the companies wrote. With so much invested in these technologies, the companies said they appreciate the clarifications offered by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in a letter he wrote to several senators Oct. 19.

Looking to the final 2018 RFS rule, the advanced biofuel companies highlight a few elements critical to their efforts to attract global investment and stimulate growth in advanced and cellulosic biofuel production. First, they said the RFS volume obligations must reflect projected volumes of advanced and cellulosic biofuels, as intended by Congress. Second, the companies said that the integrity of the RFS must be protected and biofuel markets must be allowed to expand to attract investment and bring more advanced biofuels to market.

“Mr. President, we very much appreciate your ongoing commitment to the biofuels industry and the Americans who work every day to produce biofuels and other bio-based, agricultural products,” wrote the companies. “Growing the final 2018 RFS rule over 2017 levels and opening the transportation fuel marketplace to greater competition from biofuels will help generate more investment in our sector, leading to more construction and manufacturing jobs in rural communities, and increased U.S. energy security. We look forward to working with you toward our shared goals.”

The letter is signed by Aemetis, ADM, Cellerate, DSM, Edeniq, Enerkem, ICM, Lallemand Biofuels and Distilled Spirits, Mascoma, Novozymes, Pacific Ethanol, Poet, Poet-DSM Advanced Biofuels, Quad County Corn Processors, Renmatix, Sweetwater Energy, Syngenta, Vertimass, and White Dog Labs. A full copy of the letter can be downloaded from the Advanced Biofuels Business Council.

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