The Renewable Fuel Standard works

The fuels of the future are here today, and we can thank Congress for enacting the Renewable Fuel Standard. This bedrock policy has brought us to the point where the first commercial facilities producing cellulosic renewable fuels are up and running, and several more are under construction. As a result of this innovative policy, the United States is a world leader in the development of this renewable energy source and has attracted billions of dollars of private-sector investment.

DuPont and the Union of Concerned Scientists share a commitment to science-based solutions. We come at this commitment in different ways but we are united in our support for cellulosic renewable fuels. We believe it is essential for the emerging industry to flourish — and to do so, it needs the policy stability provided by the RFS. As the cornerstone of our biofuels policy, it provides industry with a predictable market signal, rewards innovation and investment in the development of new renewable fuel technologies, the steady improvement of their environmental benefits and the expansion of domestic fuel production in rural America.


Unfortunately, the oil industry associations argue that the RFS is a failed policy and that we should abandon it. They are wrong. And the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agrees. While the court recently ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to be more neutral in setting annual cellulosic requirements, what’s more important is that the court upheld the EPA’s overall approach and the requirements for advanced biofuels.

The fact is that ending or reopening the RFS would simply delay the realization of the energy, climate and economic goals a strong bipartisan congressional majority committed to five years ago and leave us back where we started — dependent on fossil fuels for our transportation needs. Perhaps that is what the oil lobbyists want, but it is clearly not what America wants or needs.

The first chapter of the RFS has seen renewable fuels grow to play a substantial role in our fuel supply. The next chapter of the RFS is about the commercialization of advanced and especially cellulosic renewable fuels made from residues such as agricultural and wood waste and trash. That commercialization is under way, and well-established companies like DuPont are investing their own money to build the first commercial production facilities, such as the more than $200 million facility the company recently broke ground on in Iowa.

Across the United States and around the world, innovative companies are investing heavily — to the tune of over a billion dollars of private capital — to build the first wave of commercial scale facilities. Ineos is starting up a plant in Florida, and Kior is operating a plant in Mississippi. Abengoa is constructing a cellulosic renewable fuel plant in Kansas, and POET and DSM are constructing in Iowa. Farmers are preparing to supply these plants with the cellulosic materials they will convert to fuel. Steel is going into the ground, and construction workers and farmers are on the job. These plants hold the promise of producing clean, renewable fuel at large scale and improving energy and economic security while achieving significant environmental benefits. Over the next several years, cellulosic renewable fuel will grow into a sizable commercial industry.

In essence, using domestically produced raw materials to make renewable fuel works for America — and puts Americans to work. The RFS has brought us cutting-edge renewable energy technologies that will help make American energy cleaner and more secure while creating jobs in rural America. Cellulosic biofuels have made the transition from the laboratory to commercial production and are a key element of the Union of Concerned Scientists’ plan to cut half of projected oil use over the next 20 years. These fuels could contribute the equivalent of more than 1.5 million barrels of oil per day by 2035, and, combined with improvements in fuel efficiency and advancements in electric vehicles, could enable the United States to cut half of projected oil use and avoid the associated problems for our economy, environment and security.

Opening the RFS would send a chilling signal to the marketplace, just as companies are making significant private investments in cellulosic biofuels deployment. Now is the wrong time to create business uncertainty by changing policy.

We must remain committed to the policy bedrock of the RFS if we are serious about maximizing the potential of these homegrown fuels and reducing our reliance on oil. Congress should maintain the RFS to sustain these private-sector investments that are building a more secure energy future for the United States.

Jeremy Martin is a senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists. Jim Collins is president of DuPont Industrial Biosciences.