EPA considers rolling back 2013 target for advanced biofuels

Cellulosic biofuels can’t seem to catch a break. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday that it would reconsider the 2013 cellulosic ethanol mandate, which requires oil refiners to blend a specific amount of advanced biofuels made from grasses, trees and crop waste into gasoline.

The decision to review the mandate was made in light of concerns raised by oil industry groups. In October, the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers petitioned the EPA to reduce the target because advanced biofuels makers were failing to meet production schedules needed to meet the target.

In 2013, cellulosic producers were projected to make only about one million gallons of cellulosic, significantly less than the six million gallons mandated. In particular, KiOR, a cellulosic gasoline and diesel producer based in Pasadena, TX, cut its production last year from an initial 5 million to only one million gallons.

Given the limited availability of advanced biofuels to blend into gasoline, oil refiners would be forced to purchase millions of dollars worth of credits on the open market . As it stands, meeting the 2013 mandate could cost oil refiners more than $2.2 million in fees, according to estimates from the American Petroleum Institute. In 2011 and 2012, the EPA also lowered the biofuels targets due to similar production delays at cellulosic biofuels producers.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2014/01/24/epa-considers-rolling-back-2013-target-for-advanced-biofuels/?ss=business%3Aenergy