US Takes Historic Energy Steps

In late 2007, the United States took a significant step forward with respect to its energy future and in turn helped move the global renewable fuels industry forward. By enacting the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, America took the most logical and immediate steps available to address our nation’s growing energy crisis and the impacts of global climate change by pairing stronger vehicle fuel economy standards with the increased use of renewable fuels like ethanol.

The Nuts and Bolts
The specifics of the legislation with respect to ethanol and renewable fuels are quite significant. Building upon the grain-based ethanol industry the United States has developed, the EISA of 2007 expanded the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) from 7.5 billion gallons of required annual renewable fuel use in 2012 to 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels use annually by 2022. That volume represents approximately 20 percent of the total projected motor fuel market in the United States in 2022.

The expansion of the RFS carves out specific markets for ethanol and renewable fuels based on feedstocks used for production and greenhouse gas emissions. For example, corn-based ethanol is limited to 15 billion gallons annually beginning in 2015 and must meet a 20 percent greenhouse gas emission reduction compared to gasoline. The remaining 21 billion gallons must come from advanced biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol, and achieve greenhouse gas reductions exceeding 50 percent. Specifically, the RFS requires the use of 16 billion gallons of ethanol derived from cellulosic sources annually by 2022. In addition, these gallons must lower greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent.

The newly-signed law also contains provisions to explore ethanol blends higher than 10 percent, including studying the possibility of mandating E85 infrastructure across the country.