U.S. could face glut of biofuels
Posted on December 1st, 2009
Greenwire: Thanks to a recession-based fall in fuel demand, U.S. government mandates requiring the use of 15 billion gallons of biofuels by 2012 could face the reality that there is nowhere to use all that fuel.
Two years ago, while crafting its biofuels legislation, Congress did not account for fuel demands remaining or falling — a progression begun by the recession that could continue thanks to improved fuel efficiency. This trend, and the fact that ethanol can constitute only 10 percent of normal gasoline blends, suggests the country is unlikely to use all the biofuels Congress ordered.
“The market is full,” said Jeff Broin, chief executive of the ethanol maker Poet.
U.S. EPA has the power to solve the biofuels conundrum by tweaking the government’s mandate, which is expected to happen this week (Philip Brasher, Des Moines Register, Nov. 29).
Waiving the mandates would outrage farmers, who sell corn for ethanol production. And automakers say that higher ethanol blends would cause cars’ catalytic converters to run hot and wear out, wrote Dave McCurdy, president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, in a letter to EPA.
“We are sensitive to the issues facing the ethanol industry, but the government must make decisions based on sound science,” he said (Matthew L. Wald, New York Times, Nov. 27). – PV