Renewable Energy

Assessment and Debate Over Renewable Fuel Standard Continues

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June 14, 2013

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is continuing its assessment of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The Committee has issued its fourth white paper focusing on "Energy Policy." The Committee is seeking stakeholder input by June 21 on a series of questions. In the meantime, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing on the RFS, and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has published a series of informative background briefs on related topics.

On June 7, the House Energy and Commerce Committee announced the release of the Committee’s fourth white paper in its ongoing bipartisan review of the RFS. They are seeking stakeholder input on the following questions:

  1. How vulnerable is the United States currently to major oil supply and price disruptions? In the context of rising domestic oil production and falling demand, how important is it to adopt new and strengthen existing policy measures to further reduce our dependence on oil?
  2. How has the RFS contributed to improved energy security? To what degree should the reduction in U.S. oil imports be attributed to the RFS?
  3. In the context of rising domestic oil production and falling demand, to what extent does the RFS currently contribute to U.S. energy security and to what extent will it further contribute going forward?
  4. How do the costs and benefits of the RFS compare to those of other federal policies to diversify fuels used in the transportation sector, diversify transportation options, and reduce oil dependence through other means?
  5. What has been the impact of the RFS on oil prices? What has been the impact on gasoline and diesel fuel prices? What has been the impact on oil and fuel price volatility? How will these impacts change in the years ahead?
  6. Could the RFS be modified to enhance energy security further? Should the range of qualifying fuels be expanded? If so, how? If not, why not?

Please send responses to [email protected] by Friday, June 21, 2013. The Committee plans to release additional white papers on various topics relating to the RFS for stakeholder comment in the weeks ahead.

In the meantime, there has been a lot of talk about the causes and effects of volatile and increasing prices for renewable identification numbers (RINs) and other topics relating to the RFS. The EIA has been releasing some short, informative briefs:

Finally, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing June 5 entitled Up Against the Blend Wall: Examining EPA’s Role in the Renewable Fuel Standard . See especially the thoughtful testimony of Jeremy Martin of the Union of Concerned Scientists .