Iowa biodiesel industry commends Rep. Hinson on advocating for higher RFS volumes in letter to EPA

The Iowa Biodiesel Board commended U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Iowa, for leading a bipartisan letter to U.S. EPA trying to convince the agency to make vital improvements to its current proposed rule on the Renewable Fuel Standard volumes.

The EPA’s proposed rule, known as the RFS “set” rule, establishes blending volumes (renewable volume obligations, or RVOs) for 2023 through 2025.

The letter, coauthored by U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, a Democrat from Minnesota, and signed by 37 representatives from both parties, including all Iowa representatives, states, “We are concerned that the proposed RVOs for advanced biofuels, particularly biomass-based diesel, represent a step in the wrong direction and threaten to derail the significant progress made by the industry in recent years.”

Grant Kimberley, executive director of the Iowa Biodiesel Board, issued the following statement.

“We applaud Rep. Hinson for her leadership in trying to convince EPA to take a stronger course of action with biodiesel under the RFS. As the letter states, this draft rule ‘fails to account for the existing capabilities of the industry, let alone for its continued growth.’

“With one hand, the Biden administration seeks rapid decarbonization and has thrown down the gauntlet with programs like the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge, and more investment in the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program. Yet with the other hand, the same administration is holding back a fuel that can immediately decarbonize existing diesel technology—a technology likely to continue to fuel the economy for decades to come.

“The proposed rule also neglects to recognize the nearly $5 billion in investments on the line to increase soybean-crush capacity, which would greatly enhance the feedstock availability for biofuels like biodiesel. About $590 million of this is in Iowa. Many of these investments, along with other biomass-based diesel plant investments, were made with EPA’s original promise of RFS growth top of mind. We urge EPA to hear what these representatives are saying and maximize biodiesel’s powerful contributions to our economy and environment.”

Biodiesel is made from a diverse mix of resources, including recycled cooking oil, soybean oil and animal fats.

The Iowa Biodiesel Board is a state trade association representing the biodiesel industry.