This week, a number our staff attended the 2019 Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW), where they had the chance to speak with members and industry stakeholders to update them on our efforts and the latest in the industry. This year, our theme was “Growing Opportunity” and we were proud to promote our role in expanding the potential for ethanol both for our drivers at home and overseas.
Growth Energy Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley joined the “association roundtable” of industry experts to discuss the future of the biofuels industry in the wake of achieving year-round sales of E15. The panel discussed the next steps for the biofuels industry as they address the RFS ‘reset’, the 2020 renewable volume obligations (RVOs), and the rise of autonomous and electric vehicles. Bliley also highlighted the urgent need for EPA to address the handout of small refinery exemptions to big oil:
“EPA needs to enforce the law. Between waiving volumes and small refinery exemptions, this hasn’t been done over the past 5 years,” Bliley said. “We’re going to continue to fight SREs as a top priority and some of the disclosures we’ve seen in the litigation are eye opening. The numbers on the RVOs become arbitrary if you’re going to waive billions of gallons underneath them.”