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By Pulling 2014 RFS Target, EPA Preserves Advanced Biofuel Supply For Now
Leticia Phillips — posted 21/11/2014
After more than a year of deliberation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced it will not finalize 2014 volume standards under the renewable fuel standard (RFS) program before the end of the year. The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) issued the following statement in response, which should be attributed to Elizabeth Farina, UNICA President.
“EPA is at least stepping back from proposed cuts to advanced biofuel targets and ensuring American drivers will continue to benefit from a steady supply of clean renewable fuels like sugarcane ethanol. In 2013, 15 percent of America’s advanced biofuels – 435 million gallons – came from Brazil, delivering at least a 50 percent reduction in emissions compared to gasoline. Slashing the 2014 renewable fuels standard target would have fundamentally threatened both America’s supply of low-carbon fuel and the Obama Administration’s emissions reduction goals.
The Brazilian sugarcane ethanol industry has collaboratively worked with the U.S. to lower emissions through the RFS for over seven years, and while we’re relieved this decision doesn’t roll back environmental gains made over that time, EPA has missed a golden opportunity to increase the volume of cleaner fuel flowing to American drivers.
We encourage EPA to publish the 2015 RFS targets as soon as possible so advanced biofuel producers have clarity on production targets before the season starts.”
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UNICA is the largest organization representing sugar, ethanol, and bioelectricity producers in Brazil. For more information, visit www.sugarcane.org or join the conversation on Twitter at @CaneBiofuel.
Friendly Reminders
Leticia Phillips — posted 18/06/2014
Sometimes, we all need friendly reminders. Our favorite World Cup soccer players get reminded on the field to play by the rules, and we often get reminded about our commitments. Commitments to our family, commitments to our friends, and commitments to our international trading partners.
The United States has commitments as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). WTO member countries have trade obligations, such as commitments to nondiscrimination in terms of product origin.
So consider this blog post a friendly reminder to Rep. James Lankford (R-OK) who last week introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to repeal the current conventional ethanol requirements under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and limit the biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel and cellulosic biofuel volumes to domestic production only.
By discriminating against foreign biofuel manufacturers, this legislation would violate important American commitments to the WTO.
The bill would also limit America’s access to clean renewable fuels that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent or more. One such advanced renewable fuel is made from Brazilian sugarcane – an affordable and low-carbon biofuel that brings consumers cleaner air, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, better performance and a lower dependence on oil.
The United States and Brazil are the world’s top two biofuel exporters, and both nations enjoy the economic and environmental benefits of global trade in renewable fuels. But not everyone is aware of this long-lasting and mutually beneficial trading history. So consider it another friendly reminder that the U.S. and Brazil should lead by example in creating a free market for clean, renewable energy.
Legislation that restricts access to advanced biofuels from other countries harms global efforts to develop clean and renewable energy. It also backslides on American commitments to open markets.
A Technical Detail with Big Implications
Leticia Phillips — posted 30/05/2014
The debate over American biofuels policy has centered on the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), but there’s another issue unfolding under the radar with significant implications for renewable fuels – the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) volatility waiver.
RVP may be a technical issue, but inconsistent application of the volatility waiver by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is limiting widespread introduction of E15 ethanol-blended gasoline, threatening compliance with the RFS, and creating an arbitrary barrier to ethanol use in America.
That’s why UNICA has written to EPA urging consistent treatment of RVP requirements for both E10 and E15 – action that would reduce the potential for “boutique fuels,” maximize flexibility for refiners and gasoline marketers, and pave the way to greater ethanol use in the U.S. as mandated by the RFS.
Lower RVP, Lower Emissions – Brazil’s Experience
First, a little background on what RVP is and why it matters. The RVP is a common measure of gasoline’s volatility, defined as the absolute vapor pressure exerted by liquids at 100 degrees Fahrenheit. EPA regulates vapor pressure of fuel sold at retail stations during the summer ozone season to diminish health risks by reducing evaporative emissions of gasoline that contribute to ground-level ozone.
EPA currently allows E10 a one pound-per-square-inch (psi) RVP volatility tolerance, enabling ethanol to be blended into conventional gasoline year-round without requiring marketers to secure specially tailored gasoline blendstock. EPA currently does not extend this same one-psi waiver to E15, making sales extremely difficult for gasoline marketers, as they have to incur the added costs and logistics of obtaining appropriate blendstocks.
A higher percentage of renewable ethanol, as opposed to fossil fuel-based gasoline, makes environmental and climate sense: Less fossil fuel equals fewer harmful emissions. In Brazil, ethanol has been blended well above 10 percent in gasoline (up to 25 percent for all light-duty vehicles) while lowering emissions like carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, and other particulate emissions without any degradation in general air quality.
Brazil has accepted RVP ranges between 6.5–10 psi for gasoline depending on ethanol blend levels for years as a reasonable compromise between refinery flexibility, gasoline quality, and environmental requirements.
In fact, Brazil’s experience over the past 30 years shows if high RVP becomes a concern for any given gasoline stock, then increasing the ethanol blend is a simple and cost-effective solution to lower RVP.
EPA Findings Extend From E10 To E15
Ample scientific justification exists for EPA to extend the RVP volatility waiver to E15, and recent analyses show the vapor pressure of E15 is slightly lower than E10 while creating greater reductions in carbon monoxide and exhaust hydrocarbon emissions.
EPA’s initial decision to grant the one-psi waiver to E10 was based on its findings that increased volatility associated with the waiver was offset by reduced emissions if low-RVP gasoline was available for E10 blending. Unfortunately, insufficient supply of low-RVP gasoline blendstock exists in the U.S. to accommodate broad E15 blending without the one-psi waiver.
Using the same reasoning EPA used to issue the one-psi waiver to E10, the waiver should also apply to E15. As long as the waiver applies to E10, there’s no logical reason it shouldn’t also extend to E10.
Another Market-Based Alternative
But even if EPA doesn’t follow this logic, another alternative exists. Instead of extending the one-psi waiver to E15, EPA could instead discontinue the E10 waiver; effectively ensuring “standard” gasoline blendstock would have an RVP low enough to facilitate both E10 and E15 blending.
Either way, EPA should treat both E10 and E15 consistently in the marketplace with regard to RVP. This issue is critical not only from an economic perspective, but from an environmental perspective, as E15 is attempting to enter the U.S. market and RFS-obligated parties are increasingly interested in higher-level ethanol blends.
Environmental And Economic Imperatives
Given both the Obama Administration’s efforts to combat climate change, and the unique role of U.S. regulations on global acceptance of alternative fuels, we encourage the EPA to act quickly by either extending the one-psi waiver to E15 or removing the waiver entirely for E10.
Sugarcane Ethanol Plays Modest but Important Role Supplying U.S. with Advanced Biofuels
Leticia Phillips — posted 08/04/2014
In advance of the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing – entitled Advanced Biofuels: Creating Jobs and Lower Prices at the Pump – the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) released the following statement. It should be attributed to Leticia Phillips, UNICA’s representative in North America.
The United States and Brazil are the world’s top two ethanol exporters, and both nations enjoy the economic and environmental benefits of global biofuels trade. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified Brazilian sugarcane ethanol as an advanced biofuel in 2010 after determining it reduces carbon dioxide emissions by at least 60% compared to gasoline. Thanks to those greenhouse gas savings, the benefits of using sugarcane ethanol are cleaner air and a healthier planet – benefits that will grow as Americans consume more advanced biofuels.
Sugarcane ethanol plays a modest but important role supplying the United States with clean renewable fuel. Last year, even though Brazilian sugarcane ethanol comprised only 3% of all renewable fuel consumed by Americans, it provided 15% of the U.S. supply of advanced biofuels. Experts expect those proportions to continue in 2014.
Brazilian sugarcane producers are making investments to expand production, and Americans can depend on more advanced biofuel from sugarcane. America imported nearly 435 million gallons of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol in 2013 – roughly half of all Brazilian biofuel exports last year. Brazil produces about 7.2 billion gallons of sugarcane ethanol annually, and UNICA estimates that at least 600 million gallons will be available for export to the U.S. this year, with the potential for growth.
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The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) is the leading trade association for the sugarcane industry in Brazil, representing 60 percent of the country’s sugarcane production and processing. UNICA works to encourage the continuous advancement of sustainable practices throughout the sugarcane industry and to promote sugarcane-based biofuels as a clean, reliable alternative to fossil fuels. For more information, including the latest updates on the Sugarcane Solutions Blog, check out www.sugarcane.org/RFS.
CARB Recognizes Expanded Environmental, Low-Carbon Benefits from Sugarcane Biofuel
Washington, D.C., March 11, 2014 – Brazilian sugarcane producers applaud the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for once again declaring that sugarcane ethanol is one of the most environmentally friendly biofuels supplying today’s market.
Research unveiled today in CARB’s staff proposal to strengthen the State of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) provides new compelling evidence of the role sugarcane can play to lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce petroleum use. This proposal moves California one step forward toward supporting a healthier, cleaner planet.
CARB’s proposal to revise indirect land-use change (ILUC) estimates in the LCFS shows the Brazilian sugarcane biofuel generates about half the indirect emissions that CARB originally suggested during its rulemaking process in 2009. If implemented, these revised ILUC estimates will confirm what numerous other studies have shown: sugarcane ethanol is one of the most environmentally friendly biofuels supplying today’s market.
UNICA welcomes CARB’s proposal to revisit its original estimates by putting science first. We look forward to providing detailed comments to this CARB proposal, as we have done in past.
California has always been a pioneer in clean energy policy, and today’s proposals reaffirms the state’s leadership role in establishing a cleaner, more sustainable world.
Previous comments submitted by UNICA to CARB proposals:
Sometimes, we all need friendly reminders. Our favorite World Cup soccer players get reminded on the field to play by the rules, and we often get reminded about our commitments. Commitments to our family, commitments to our friends, and commitments to our international trading partners.
