Complete Story
02/10/2010
OSA Welcomes RFS2 Final Rule
Contact: Jamie Butts
Ohio Soybean Association
614.476.3100
jbutts@soyohio.org
NEWS RELEASE
Feb. 10, 2010
OSA Welcomes RFS2 Final Rule
EPA Concludes that Soy Biodiesel Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 57%
WORTHINGTON, Ohio – The Ohio Soybean Association (OSA) welcomed the release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Final Rule last week for the Renewable Fuels Standard Program (RFS2) that provides a positive outcome for soy biodiesel.
EPA’s Final Rule demonstrates that soy biodiesel can achieve significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to petroleum diesel. Even with the inclusion of questionable indirect land use variables, all soy biodiesel is deemed by the EPA to reduce GHG emissions by 57 percent compared to petroleum diesel fuel, exceeding the 50 percent reduction threshold needed to qualify for the RFS2 biodiesel mandate.
“OSA is pleased with the EPA’s Final Rule for RFS2,” said Jeff Wuebker, OSA president and Darke County soybean farmer. “In addition to the economic benefits, the conclusion that soy biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 57 percent shows the significant environmental benefit this fuel offers.”
In 2009, the domestic biodiesel industry supported more than 23,000 jobs nationwide, displaced more than 26 million barrels of foreign oil and added more than $4 billion to the national economy.
The Final Rule also requires the utilization of 1.1 billion gallons of biodiesel by the end of 2010 (biodiesel used domestically in 2009 will count toward this total), significantly energizing demand for U.S. biodiesel producers. Agricultural feedstocks produced in the U.S., such as soybeans, will be in compliance and no additional certification will be required unless the baseline level of approved agricultural land is exceeded. The EPA will require certification for foreign feedstocks.
The initial rule, proposed by the EPA in May of 2009, contained significant inaccuracies pertaining to nitrogen fixing with soybeans, co-product allocation, energy balance and agricultural efficiencies, which would have done unnecessary harm to the competitive position of the U.S. biodiesel industry. Since then, OSA has been helping to generate significant grassroots support and comments from Ohio soybean farmers and other industry supporters to encourage the EPA to reexamine the original methodology. And while OSA continues to object to the use of international indirect land use assumptions in the rule, the new methodology represents a significant improvement over the original.
Originally enacted in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, RFS2 specifically provided for a renewable component in U.S. diesel fuel. It will require the use of increasingly larger quantities of biodiesel every year, with a requirement of 1 billion gallons in 2012. From 2012 through 2022, a minimum of 1 billion gallons must be used domestically, and the Administrator of the EPA is given the authority to increase the minimum volume requirement.
OSA has also been working to generate legislative support for the renewal of a $1-per-gallon biodiesel tax credit, which encourages businesses and consumers to use biodiesel. The tax credit expired on December 31, 2009, and its expiration endangers the domestic biodiesel industry. Since its enactment in 2004, the biodiesel tax incentive has increased the domestic production and use of biodiesel from 25 million gallons in 2004 to 690 million gallons in 2008.
“While the RFS2 Final Rule is a positive outcome for soy biodiesel, the expiration of the federal biodiesel tax credit continues to threaten the entire industry,” said Jamie Butts, OSA executive director. “We will continue to work to encourage legislators to pass a retroactive biodiesel tax credit so that the domestic biodiesel industry can thrive.”
About OSA
The Ohio Soybean Association is governed by a 25-member volunteer farmer board dedicated to education and promotion, as well as to uniting producer interest through support of legislative activities beneficial to the Ohio soybean industry.
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