Industry points the finger mainly at government’s focus on electric vehicles, but recent fuel tax credits are also criticized
The product that sparked the first big global grain rally of the 21st century is under attack in the United States, according to an industry official.
Various U.S. federal government regulations are promoting electric vehicles and other low-carbon options at the expense of ethanol, according to Geoff Cooper, president of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), the leading trade association for the U.S. ethanol industry.
A prime example is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed multi-pollutant emissions standards for model years 2027-32 light-duty and medium-duty vehicles.
The proposed regulation treats electric vehicles as “zero emissions” vehicles, ignoring upstream emissions related to electricity production and the mining and processing of critical battery minerals.
That gives auto manufacturers a compelling incentive to produce electric vehicles because it lowers the overall greenhouse gas emissions ratings for their entire fleet of vehicles.
The EPA anticipates that its tailpipe emissions standard could result in electric vehicles accounting for 67 percent of new light-duty vehicle sales and 46 percent of new medium-duty vehicle sales by 2032.
“That, to us, is crazy,” Cooper said during an Agri-Pulse Open Mic podcast.
Even if automakers could ramp up electric vehicle production to that extent, there wouldn’t be the infrastructure to support it.
Source : BIV