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Grand opening speakers lament ‘uncertainty’ over RFS

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the new DuPont cellulosic ethanol plant in Iowa is a great example of what Congress envisioned when it passed the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) a decade ago.

Grassley was one of the speakers at the recent grand opening event for the plant, which is located near Nevada, Iowa.

“We envisioned new biofuel from new technologies that were cleaner, greener and more efficient. You achieved those goals with today’s grand opening,” Grassley said.

But Grassley and several other speakers at the event criticized the EPA for creating uncertainty by proposing to lower ethanol volume requirements in the RFS.

“The federal government was a great partner at the beginning,” said Iowa Governor Terry Branstad. “They need to get back on board and continue to move forward with these advancements.”

Bill Feehery, president of DuPont Industrial Biosciences, told Brownfield that uncertainty over the RFS has hurt their efforts to market their cellulosic ethanol technology in the U.S.

“I think it’s maybe a lesson around the importance of the continuing steadiness of public policy—and what that does in terms of these multi-year investments and moving those forward,” Feehery said.

The EPA has set a November 30th deadline to announce its final RFS volume requirements for 2014, 2015 and 2016.

AUDIO: Excerpts from the grand opening event on 10/30/15