EPA Denies Texas Request to Cut National Biofuels Mandate In Half for a Year

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

To be honest, we nearly decided not to report the following development, because as anyone who has paid the slightest attention to EPA Administer Stephen Johnson (right) the past year knows, he was as likely to approve Texas's request to halve the 2008 renewable fuel standard as he was to appear before the Washington press corps in a yellow polka-dot bikini.

In denying the state's request to cut the national biofuels mandate in half for a year, Johnson -- a Bush appointee -- said today that the renewable fuel standard "is strengthening the nation's energy security and supporting America's farming communities."

The mandate "will remain an important tool in our ongoing effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lessen our dependence on foreign oil in aggressive yet practical ways," he said.

Texas Governor Rick Perry asked EPA to lower the 2008 renewable fuel standard from 9 billion gallons to 4.5 billion gallons, saying the mandate was spurring skyrocketing food and feed costs and hurting his state's economy.

Politically, rubbing some Texans the wrong way given that the state can be counted on to vote Republican anyway is a small price to pay compared to losing campaign contributions from the agriculture industry and votes from swing states where agriculture is big business.

The U.S. auto industry, another major source of votes and campaign contributions, is also a huge proponent of corn ethanol. In addition to employing technology to achieve mileage increases, Detroit is trying to fool consumers by making gas-guzzlers that can guzzle ethanol as well.

The flexible-fuel vehicles can theoretically run on E85 (a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline). In practice, though, 99 percent of them run on gas alone. The beauty of flex-fuel vehicles in the eyes of U.S. automakers is that the vehicles help them meet federal fuel-economy regulations and, unlike other alternative-fuel vehicles, don't cost a lot to make.

So the decision to deny the Texas request was a no-brainer, as far as the Bush administration was concerned.

The mandate grows next year to 11 billion gallons. The energy law signed by President Bush last December expanded the overall biofuels mandate to 36 billion gallons annually by 2022, with corn ethanol peaking at 15 billion gallons and the rest coming from "advanced" biofuels like cellulosic ethanol that do not come directly from food crops.

Posted by

Scott Doggett August 7, 2008, 12:25 PM

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Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, Emissions, Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Methanol

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EPA, Ethanol, Flex Fuel, Renewable Fuel Standard, Stephen Johnson, Texas Governor Rick Perry