Biofuei mandate vacated; agency responds by increasing mandate 60%

摘要

In late January; the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit vacated the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) 2012 cellulosic biofuei mandate, concluding that its forecast was in "excess of the agency's statutory authority." "The court's decision provides welcome relief and puts the EPA on notice that it must act as a neutral arbiter rather than a promoter of cellulosic fuel," said American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers President Charles T. Drevna. "Instead of facing the reality of zero cellulosic biofuel production under the Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS), the EPA wrongly relied upon an inflated production capacity predicted by cellulosic biofuel producers. This resulted in a cellulosic mandate that was impossible to meet and left refiners having to purchase waiver credits that act as a hidden tax on transportation fuels."