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CARB meets to set low carbon fuels standard

The California Air Resources Board—CARB—is meeting in Sacramento today and Friday. The main order of business—a decision on the state’s low carbon fuels standard.

Corn, soybean and ethanol groups, scientists, and others have been trying to convince the California board that they should not use an indirect land use formula in determining carbon scores for biofuels. Many fear the models being considered by CARB could effectively eliminateCalifornia from using any ethanol from the Midwest.

And there could be ripple effects as well. Jamey Cline, biofuels director for the National Corn Growers Association, says several other states, as well as the federal government, are watching the California decision veryclosely.

“We’re looking to have comment period open up here, before too long, on the RFS—with the overall energy bill, the 15 billion gallons by 2015,” Cline says, “and several other states are looking at this as well. So there is widespread effect from botha federal and state level in other parts of the country.”

A USDA official told DTN that eleven Northeast states are ready to adopt the California standard, which he says could shrink the U.S. ethanol market by about 30 percent.