Unexpected Incentive

摘要

A common argument among opponents of ethanol is that renewable identification numbers(RIN)can drive fuel prices higher for consumers.A higher RIN， they say， increases the price of fuel blended with ethanol.Ron Lamberty， senior vice president of the American Coalition for Ethanol， has a different theory.To back it up， he points to lower net prices of higher ethanol blends at the pump， in the face of RIN value spikes.Back in October， when the U.S.EPA rejected petitions to move the point of obligation， and rejected requests to allow RINs on exported gallons， RIN values increased.But instead of prices at the pump increasing， prices of higher ethanol blends at many stations sank.Why? Put simply， ethanol producers were reducing the prices on the RINless ethanol they sold， allowing retailers to pass along those savings to their customers.Glacial Lakes Energy in South Dakota， Lamberty cites， sold its RINless denatured ethanol for just 30 cents per gallon， and Absolute Energy in Iowa was offering RINless E85 for 55 cents.When ethanol is sold RINless， the RIN is retained by the blender and its value is subtracted， leaving a low net fuel price.