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January 16, 2015
On January 13, Florida-based algae fuels company Algenol announced it has received a designation as an advanced biofuel from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Algenol’s fuel was determined by EPA to be 69 percent less greenhouse gas intensive than conventional gasoline. It’s a major milestone for a small but growing industry that has been beset with setbacks and detractors. According to Algenol founder and CEO Paul Woods, "The EPA validates that our suite of fuels meet the GHG reduction requirements set by the EPA for advanced biofuels… but the true game changing part originates from paying for CO2 emissions by converting them into valuable, low-cost transportation fuels.” Utilizing CO2 emissions for algae fuels could even be used a compliance strategy for reducing emissions under the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan.
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Huffman (D-CA) Introduces Bill to Replace Gas Tax with Carbon Tax on Fuels
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) introduced a bill (H.R. 309) that would abolish the 1986 gas tax and replace it with a carbon tax on all highway transportation fuels. With funding for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) set to expire in May and gas prices at a five-year low, lawmakers are finding the idea of a gas tax hike more palatable than in previous years. Recently, Senators Hatch (R-UT), Inhofe (R-OK) and Thune (R-SD) described the gas tax as a “user fee,” reflecting shifting attitudes about the gas tax among lawmakers. H.R. 309, the “Gas Tax Replacement Act of 2015,” would remove the per-gallon tax and instead tax fuel refiners and importers “$50 per metric ton of total life-cycle emissions of carbon dioxide … [and] any other greenhouse gas determined on a ratio of the amount of such other greenhouse gas per metric ton” in both fossil-sourced fuels and methanol, ethanol, and biodiesel. Rep. Huffman claims the switch would make the HFT solvent, as well as spur innovation in renewable technology.
RFS Roundup: Senators Feinstein, Toomey Float Amendment to Cut Corn Ethanol from RFS
On January 16, Sens. Feinstein (D-CA) and Toomey (R-PA) floated an amendment to the Keystone XL pipeline bill, the ‘Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act of 2015,’ that would remove corn ethanol from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Sen. Flake (R-AZ) is a co-sponsor. Citing growing food prices and an increasing amount of corn ethanol in the U.S. fuel supply (the RFS caps corn ethanol production at 15 billion gallons), Senator Feinstein commented that, “This bill is a simple and smart modification of the Renewable Fuel Standard program. Once we remove the corn ethanol mandate, the RFS program can finally serve its intended purpose: to support the development of advanced, environmentally friendly biofuels like biodiesel, cellulosic ethanol and other revolutionary fuels.”
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